PlayStation Officially Delists Destruction AllStars From PS Store, Confirms Full Server Shutdown in Early 2025
Key keywords: Destruction AllStars, PlayStation game delisting, PS5 exclusive titles, online server shutdown, Lucid Games, PlayStation Plus launch games, live service game sunset, PS Store removals
On October 15, 2024, Sony Interactive Entertainment officially announced that the PS5 exclusive multiplayer car combat game Destruction AllStars has been delisted from the PlayStation Store globally, with full online server operations scheduled to cease on January 6, 2025. First revealed during the 2020 PS5 digital showcase as a core launch window exclusive, Destruction AllStars was developed by UK-based studio Lucid Games, and was initially offered for free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers for the first two months after its February 2021 release, a move designed to drive player adoption for the new console’s first original competitive online title. At launch, the game drew positive feedback for its vibrant, high-octane gameplay that blended demolition derby-style car crashes with hero shooter-style character abilities, attracting over 2 million players in its first month of availability. However, the title struggled to retain long-term players as updates rolled out at a slower pace than promised, with many players reporting long matchmaking wait times, limited new content drops, and a lack of meaningful progression systems that would encourage repeated play. Over the past two years, the game’s daily active player count dropped to less than 1,000 globally, according to third-party player tracking data, making ongoing server maintenance economically unfeasible for both Sony and Lucid Games. The official announcement noted that players who already own a digital or physical copy of Destruction AllStars will still be able to access and play the game as normal until the server shutdown date, but all online features including competitive ranked matches, casual multiplayer lobbies, custom game rooms, and in-game challenge progress will be permanently disabled once servers go offline. The game has no fully functional offline mode, meaning the title will be largely unplayable for most users after January 6, 2025. The delisting and shutdown comes as part of Sony’s broader review of its live service game portfolio, with the company pulling support for several underperforming online titles in recent years to reallocate resources to higher-performing franchises like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and its upcoming line-up of first-party live service projects.
Featured Comments
As someone who claimed this for free on PS Plus when I got my PS5 at launch, I’m genuinely gutted. The chaotic car combat was so fun with friends for the first few months, but it was obvious the devs struggled to keep up with content updates. Matches started taking 10+ minutes to find a year ago, so I guess the shutdown was inevitable, but it still sucks that a first-party PS5 exclusive is gone entirely in less than 4 years.
This is exactly why I don’t waste money on live-service exclusive games from PlayStation anymore. They hyped Destruction AllStars up as the next big competitive car combat franchise, gave it a huge marketing push at the PS5 reveal, then abandoned it once it didn’t hit their unrealistic player count targets. I paid $20 for the deluxe edition after my PS Plus subscription lapsed, and now it’s basically a useless file on my hard drive in a few months. Total scam.
From a business perspective this makes total sense, even if it’s disappointing for fans. Maintaining online servers for a game with less than 1000 daily active players is a waste of resources for both Sony and Lucid Games. I just wish they’d add a fully functional offline mode with bot matches before the servers go dark, so people who paid for the game can still get some use out of it after January. It’s the least they could do for the community that stuck around.
I remember how excited I was for this game when it was first shown, it felt like a modern take on the old Twisted Metal formula. It’s such a shame they couldn’t figure out how to keep players engaged. This shutdown just makes me worried about the future of other smaller live service PlayStation games that don’t get massive launch traction.