Sega has announced the cancelation of its ambitious ‘Super Game’, five years after it first mentioned development of the project.
In its latest financial results, Sega quietly confirmed cancellation of Super Game in a slide detailing a review of its live service efforts.
Due to the weak performance of Sonic Rumble Party and its acquisition of Angry Birds creator Rovio, Sega said it is lowering the priority of free-to-play games in the immediate future.
Over 100 developers who were working on free-to-play titles have already been transferred to Full Game development teams “focusing on the mainstay IPs”, according to the company.
Planned revivals of classic franchises such as Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage remain in production, Sega said.
Announced in May 2021, Sega said its Super Game project would span multiple “triple-A titles that cross over Sega’s comprehensive range of technologies” and “go beyond the traditional framework of games”.
In November 2021, Sega said it would consider investing up to ¥100 billion (then $882 million) over five years to achieve its Super Game ambitions.
The company’s co-chief operating officer, Shuji Utsumi, provided an update on Super Game in late 2023.
“As the name implies, a ‘Super Game’ involves the concept of a game that stands head and shoulders above normal games,” he said.
“I encourage stakeholders to look forward to the fruit of our efforts, which include R&D to create a game that builds a whole worldview involving the entire gaming ecosystem, including not only players but also streamers who stream the game and their viewers”.
Sega’s pivot away from live service games comes amid a volatile market for blockbuster live service games, which has seen notable high profile flops in recent months as the majority of players remain entrenched in ‘forever’ games like Fortnite and Roblox, and development costs balloon.
Notably, The Game Awards’ big end-of-show announcement, Highguard, announced its closure weeks after launch earlier this year, while Amazon shut down multiple online games.
Sega experienced its own high profile live service game failure with Creative Assembly’s Hyenas, which was cancelled in 2023 after years of development and triggered a review of Sega’s European operations.
