Splash Damage’s free-to-play Dirty Bomb is ending development. An upcoming final update is removing all monetization from the game. Dirty Bomb microtransactions being removed doesn’t mean everything will be unlocked, however, as players still have levels to grind through to get unlocks.
October saw Splash Damage announce that the shooter would be ending development after one last update. That news came less than two months after version 1.0 of Dirty Bomb launched. A new post from the developer has detailed the removal of microtransactions, and a number of other details from the patch. Dirty Bomb‘s final update will be out on January 15. The developer has said Dirty Bomb servers will remain online throughout 2019.
The game’s premium currency, known as RADs, have been completely removed and those on accounts have been converted to in-game credits. Dirty Bomb microtransactions included weapons, characters, weapon skins, crafting supplies, and credit boosters. Splash Damage is also refunding the “All Merc Pack” which unlocked every character in the game, which cost $39.99 prior to its removal. The refund will happen by January 31, and will see funds depositing into players’ Steam Wallets.
While Dirty Bomb was well-received by players, it never garnered the success it needed to survive. All-time high player count was just over 13,000 concurrent players, and that number was not sustained for long. The last 30 days have an average player count of 341, with a peak of just 572 according to Steam charts.
The developer turned the final update, one that was planned to be a few bug fixes, into a “celebration of Dirty Bomb.” It’s unclear where Splash Damage will go from here, or if they’re working on other projects. The developer hasn’t announced any upcoming games, but have worked with Bethesda and Microsoft on multiplayer games in the past. Dirty Bomb was originally known as Extraction, and went into open beta in mid-2015. Splash Damage developed Brink and the multiplayer component of Gears of War 4.
