Jamie D, the developer of the boomer shooter Hellscreen, has announced on both Steam and social media that he is cancelling the remaining two episodes of the Early Access game, due to its "severe under performance" as well as "external funding being non existent"
Hellscreen, in case you're unaware, is Doom-inspired 3D first-person shooter, which featured a unique design that allowed players using a rear view mirror to be able to aim and shoot behind them, as well as in front. It entered Early Access in March 2023 and earned some positive coverage from outlets like PC Gamer and Kotaku, but has reportedly struggled to secure enough funding to allow its developer to realise the original outline for the project.
At the moment, the version of the game that is being sold on Early Access only represents episode one of what was intended to be in the final 1.0 release, with the developer Jamie D having planned to release two further episodes, to flesh out the innovative shooter. Now, though, it appears he is being forced to scale back these plans, laying the blame on a lack of funding and poor sales.
As a compromise, he is instead planning to "add some minor cut content from the subsequent episodes back into Episode 1" along with "a whole bunch of fixes" as part of scaled back 1.0, which will reportedly be released at a heavy discount.
He hopes that this decision won't put off people from following any of his projects in the future, and stated that it was a "reluctant if necessary" move, having even tried to make and sell another game to fund the remainder of Hellscreen's development to "no avail".
Here is his statement in full:
"Sadly, I have had to cancel the continued development of Hellscreen episodes 2 & 3. I'm sure this won't come as a surprise to many of you, given how long the development has taken as it is but also the state of the industry and how much everything is on fire.
Funding is impossible to came by and Episode 1 didn't make enough money to sustain continued development (I self funded the entire thing!).
I even tried making and selling another game to try and fund Hellscreen but to no avail.
I'm obviously gutted by this myself - I'm proud of what I did manage to achieve with Hellscreen.
It was my first game and put me on the map in my own little way. I met some super nice people and had some great conversations over the years.
My plan is to add some minor cut content from subsequent episodes back into Episode 1 along with a whole bunch of fixes and release in 1.0 at a heavy discount. The game is still a few hours long and it's still fun but what is there, is it.
I'm sorry to all those that bought the game early and supported me throughout the years - you have been great! I hope this doesn't put you off following my work on new projects and that you understand that this is a reluctant if necessary decision.
Sometimes things just don't work out.
But onwards to the future!
Big Love!
Jamie D"
If you still want to support the project, regardless of this turn of events, the game is currently available to buy on Steam.