Star Wars Hunters to Cease Operations Nine Months After Debut, Steam Plans Dropped

Zynga, the publisher of Star Wars Hunters, has revealed that the game will shut down completely just nine months following its launch, with plans for a Steam PC release now abandoned.

Developed by NaturalMotion, this free-to-play, team-based battle arena title debuted on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android in June 2024. IGN’s Star Wars: Hunters review gave it a 7/10, noting: “Star Wars: Hunters delivers lighthearted PvP fun, akin to a lively bash at the Death Star—entertaining for a while, but not a long-term destination.”

IGN’s assessment proved prophetic, as Zynga announced that “after thorough evaluation,” the final content update for Star Wars: Hunters across all platforms will roll out on April 15, with the game playable until October 1, 2025.

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“We recognize this news may disappoint fans, and we want to emphasize that this was a difficult decision,” Zynga stated. “Your enthusiasm and commitment to the game and its community have been invaluable, and we’ll provide ongoing updates and transparency during this transition.”

Here’s the timeline: Season 5 will be extended by three weeks starting March 25. Zynga will reintroduce events and shop bundles from the season, and the Ranked Season will also extend, offering players extra time to reach Kyber 1 rank.

On April 15, the final content update will launch for free, with in-game purchases disabled across all platforms. The new Support Hunter, Tuya, will be introduced as part of this update, available to all players at no cost alongside additional in-game content. Zynga will maintain a final Ranked Mode leaderboard and rotate all battlefields and game modes.

On October 1, the online servers will shut down permanently, rendering Star Wars: Hunters unplayable.

The shutdown notice omits any mention of the PC version, previously slated for an early access Steam release this year. The game’s Steam page now states it is “no longer available on the Steam store.”

Zynga, owned by Take-Two, is renowned for mobile titles like FarmVille, Words with Friends, and CSR Racing, but ventured into console gaming with Star Wars: Hunters. The game was also set to be Zynga’s first PC release.

“The success of Star Wars: Hunters on mobile and Nintendo Switch prompted our decision to bring the game to PC,” said Yaron Leyvan, executive vice president of games at Zynga, in November.

“Our fans have been vocal about wanting this, and we’re thrilled to invite more players to Vespaara. This marks a significant milestone for Zynga as we launch our first game on PC.”

Several Star Wars video games remain in development, including Respawn Entertainment’s third Star Wars Jedi title and Bit Reactor’s turn-based tactics game, set for a reveal at Star Wars Celebration 2025.