Overkill’s The Walking Dead pre-orders refunded

Players who’ve pre-ordered Overkill’s The Walking Dead on PlayStation 4 have recently been getting emails saying the game has been cancelled. The game’s console release was indefinitely delayed last month, so it didn’t look great then, and these emails have come alongside Starbreeze’s 2018 fiscal report – as you might expect, they financials don’t look great.

Dismal sales for Overkill’s The Walking Dead led to half-price Starter Edition release just a month after launch, and judging by the player count reported on Steam Charts, things don’t seem to be improving. In the company’s fourth quarter financial report, Walking Dead earned roughly $3.7 million USD. As GamesIndustry.biz notes, Payday 2 brought in $2.2 million for the same period, despite having released a half-decade earlier.

The company’s report makes no mention of The Walking Dead in regards to its future plans, and the cancellation emails – noted by TrueAchievements – hint that it’s not looking good for the game. Starbreeze has made no official announcement about the cancellation, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The last official update for Walking Dead hit on February 13. That’s not that long ago, but there are still quite a few episodes of previously announced updates to put out. Whether those see the light of day is now in question.

Things have not been looking good at the company. In December, Starbreeze’s CEO resigned as the company filed for reconstruction, and just a few days later the studio was raided over suspicions of insider trading, which led to an arrest.

In the financial report, Starbreeze points to Payday as one recognisable brand that can help keep it afloat. Whether the company believes The Walking Dead is worth continued support remains to be seen.