Disintegration developer V1 Interactive shuts down

Disintegration (Image credit: V1 Interactive)

What you need to know

V1 Interactive is a studio founded by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto.
The studio released Disintegration in June 2020 but due to a lack of players, the multiplayer was shut down in September 2020.
V1 Interactive confirmed today via Twitter that the studio is shutting down.

V1 Interactive, a studio founded by Marcus Lehto, co-creator of the Halo franchise, is shutting down. This news comes not quite a year after the team released Disintegration, a real-time strategy and first-person shooter hybrid title published by Private Division, part of Take-Two Interactive that's focused on working with independent developers.

We are sad to inform you that V1 Interactive is officially closing.
We want to thank all the talented people at V1, both past and present, who helped make the last 5 years wonderful.
And a heartfelt thanks to the amazing community that supported us. pic.twitter.com/XX6Sxtc32oWe are sad to inform you that V1 Interactive is officially closing.
We want to thank all the talented people at V1, both past and present, who helped make the last 5 years wonderful.
And a heartfelt thanks to the amazing community that supported us. pic.twitter.com/XX6Sxtc32o— V1 Interactive (@V1Interactive) March 8, 2021 March 8, 2021

The multiplayer for Disintegration was shut down just three months after the game released, with the team stating that the game "unfortunately struggled to build a significant audience necessary for a compelling multiplayer experience."

The single-player portion of the game was not affected by the shutdown of the multiplayer or the removal of the in-game store, so it appears players will continue to be able to play Disintegration's offline offerings in the future.

In a seperate comment on Twitter, Lehto stated that "We've been transparent with them about the state of things for months and are making this decision now so they still have ample time to search for new jobs while being supported by our studio."

Other projects from Private Division include Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey and The Outer Worlds, the latter of which was developed by Obsidian Entertainment before the studio was acquired by Microsoft. Private Division has three new games signed for the future, including one title from Ori developer Moon Studios.