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[ArtHands]

It was released on Steam early access last year, and today its publisher announced that they are relinquishing their publishing right, after its developer failed to deliver the content updates. The developer told the publisher that they will cease all services for the game.

Safe to say the Playstation version is canned.

Boundary - Boundary - End of Service Notice - Steam News

Dear Boundary Community, We have an important update regarding the future of Boundary. After careful consideration, Skystone has decided to relinquish the publishing rights for Boundary, effective at the end of June. Over the past few months, there have been significant delays and a noticeable...

store.steampowered.com

Dear Boundary Community,

We have an important update regarding the future of Boundary. After careful consideration, Skystone has decided to relinquish the publishing rights for Boundary, effective at the end of June.

Over the past few months, there have been significant delays and a noticeable absence of content updates for Boundary. Despite our best efforts and support, the developer has been unable to deliver the necessary updates and improvements to keep the game thriving. This has led to growing concerns within our community, and we share your frustration.

Starting at the end of June, the developer will resume the publishing rights for Boundary. Unfortunately, the developer has made the difficult decision to cease all services for the game instead of continuing to run it in its current state.

We understand this news is disappointing for many of our dedicated players who have supported Boundary through its journey, and we are as sad as you are that Boundary will not see its full potential.

We want to thank each of you for your passion and patience. Your support has been invaluable, and we are deeply grateful for the community we have built together.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Sincerely,
The Skystone Games Team

 

[[Sigma]]

Damn that's sad, was really interested in it when it first got announced(along with Pervader that also may be dead).

 

[Perrott]

I remember trying out a multiplayer demo in a Steam Next Fest a year or two ago.

The zero gravity mechanic didn't make for a good FPS.

 

[ArtHands]

Damn that's sad, was really interested in it when it first got announced(along with Pervader that also may be dead).

Pervader is more or less dead for a long time, just no official words.

 

[ArtHands]

Zero-G PvP shooter that sold 100K in a day is closing after a year—publisher blames developer, developer blames them right back, players just review bomb it

Boundary met its limits.

www.pcgamer.com

Seems there are more to the story

The developer, Surgical Scalpels, has a different take on things. In a post to Chinese social media site BiliBili, the studio says (via machine translation):
"The unilateral decision of SkyStone to stop operating Boundary is extremely sudden and unreasonable for the studio and players. We immediately negotiated with SkyStone upon receiving the notice, but unfortunately, we were unable to change SkyStone's unilateral decision to stop operating Boundary.

"In response to the current situation, the studio is striving to regain the rights related to the operation of Boundary and is making every effort to preserve the account data of Border, creating conditions as much as possible for the subsequent re-launch."
So this is clear as mud. The publisher Skystone says it's returned the rights: the developer Surgical Scalpel says it's still "striving" to retain them. But then we really get to the heart of the matter.

"At the same time, the studio is continuously striving for the income that Boundary deserves so far through negotiation and legal means," says the developer. "Because so far, the studio has not been able to recover the income it deserves from SkyStone."

Tale as old as time. This developer and publisher are in a dispute over money, the developer's stopped working on the game because of it (or at least is not sharing progress with the publisher), and now the publisher's dropped the whole deal.

Does this mean Boundary may have a future? I wouldn't be too bullish about that, but Surgical Scalpel is: "The operation of Boundary may be suspended as a result of this, but it will not stop forever. The studio is a stronghold on the Boundary. We hold fast, we are here, and we will never abandon the Boundary."

Except for the part where, in nine days, it looks like Boundary's going offline for good.

Unsurprisingly the news has seen the game review-bombed by its remaining players, many of whom are understandably aggrieved at the announcement. Some are demanding refunds and, while I have some sympathy, unfortunately that is the risk of buying early access titles: not all games, even those that seem to have a successful launch and attract a big audience, are going to make it. The developer claims that Boundary will return, and it may well do so. But I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

[CamHostage]

Oh shit, this game was finally at the finish line, that's a a bummer.

I always worried that it would struggle with its narrow concept, (gamers just generally don't pay for such small, one-trick experiences anymore, even at indie pricing,) but it looked nice and had some cool ideas to it. And it was one of the earliest China Hero Project games, and that initiatve has mostly produced successes. (As mentioned, Pervader is I believe the only one officially stillborn, and then there was some sucky VR or FPS game and also Ran Lost Island looks knotty but otherwise the shipped stuff has been of high quality mostly.) I would not like to see it go, but I guess I can't be surprised since Call of Duty ended up pulling off a similar gimmick in one stage of a game years ago while this was still in its prolonged development process.