What Went Wrong with Knockout City?

Knockout City is one of the numerous online games set to shut down this year. The multiplayer title, which features teams competing in a fantasy version of dodgeball, is scheduled to cease operations on June 6, roughly two years after its initial release. GamesIndustry.biz spoke with Guha Bala, co-founder of Knockout City's developer Velan Studios, to delve into the reasons behind the game's demise. Initially, Bala highlights that Knockout City got off to a strong start when it was published as a mid-priced premium title by Electronic Arts, with an additional boost from its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass. However, he notes that the competitive environment changed due to the shift towards free-to-play titles, affecting the game's pricing and sales. As a result, Knockout City transitioned to a free-to-play model, with Velan Studios handling the game independently and focusing on cosmetics-only microtransactions. Bala emphasizes the challenges the game faced, including a dramatic drop-off in retention and monetization around August, which was exacerbated by macroeconomic factors such as inflation and currency devaluation. The studio attempted to improve retention but ultimately decided to sunset the game, aiming to gain more experience with the free-to-play model and live service games. Bala expresses his hope for a potential sequel, stating that the creative work is what makes the game meaningful, and the team wants to ensure players get value out of their work. He also reflects on the lessons learned from Knockout City's short lifespan, particularly regarding monetization and the need for massive scale to be economically sustainable in a cosmetics-based, free-to-play game. Bala suggests that indie studios should focus on smaller scales and innovative ideas, rather than trying to compete with large-scale titles. He also notes that the current wave of online game closures is partly due to macroeconomic factors and the challenges of sustaining live service games. The market can only support a limited number of popular live service games, and titles must either cater to a broad audience or serve a niche audience extremely well to survive.