(Update) Ubisoft’s Roller Champions to wind down months into launch

Have the wheels fallen off?

[Update: In a new statement, Ubisoft has denied that Roller Champions is getting “canceled” after the current season ends. It did, however, note that it is currently planning on extending the current season, “Disco Fever,” indefinitely as it works on a litany of issues, implements cross-invites, and puts together a major update to address all player concerns. You can read the full statement in the tweet below.]

Hello Champions! Let’s clear it out of the way first, Roller Champions isn’t getting cancelled, and Ubisoft fully supports it.

You can rest assured we’ll keep you updated as we roll forward.

Full statement: pic.twitter.com/U8mfQRZRoH

— Roller Champions (@RollerChampions) July 25, 2022

According to rumors circulating the information superhighway, Ubisoft’s futuristic multiplayer release Roller Champions is already getting set to hit the bricks, mere months after its arrival. The free-to-play title, which launched in beta in summer 2021, only received its official launch in May of this year.

The rumor comes from industry pundit and noted spoiler Jeff Grubb on the XboxEra podcast. Speaking for one of his many sources, Grubb suggests that Ubisoft is getting set to pull the plug on Roller Champions once it reaches its third season. While Ubisoft recently noted in a financial call that the title was coasting pretty well, developer Ubisoft Montreal has been very quiet in regards to updates, while the player count on Steam dwindles in double figures.

Given that the rumors broke over the weekend, we are yet to hear official word from Ubisoft itself either way. Perhaps today the studio will openly address the story, (or it may just stay suspiciously quiet). Either way, the fate that might be about to befall Roller Champions is becoming a common story. As developers and publishers chase the multiplayer dream, an abundance of titles — all of which had money, resources, and the talent of the respective studios’ developers poured into them — are finding themselves all but abandoned in double quick time.

A multiplayer game is only as strong as its community and, if you cannot find one, then there is no salvaging the release. And that’s a real shame for the individuals tasked with creating the title. Multiplayer games, generally, become hobbies, and video game fans only have so much time to pick and choose what they want to play. The sooner the industry realizes that the gaming community has neither the time nor desire to dedicate itself to every single “long-life” F2P multiplayer title on the block, the less time and talent will be wasted developing projects that publishers will lose immediate interest in.

Roller Champions is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Ubisoft’s Roller Champions will soon be cancelled, it’s claimed [VGC]