Sony has announced that it is shutting down the servers for the 2021 PS5-exclusive Destruction AllStars. The announcement was made through emails sent to PlayStation Account holders (which you can check out below), where the company also confirmed that the game, along with all of its virtual currency—Destruction Points—have already been removed from the PlayStation Store.
It is worth noting that players who already have Destruction AllStars linked to their PlayStation accounts can continue playing the single-player game modes until November 25th. Players can also continue to spend any Destruction Points that they may have leftover from their time spent with their game until the same date, at which point all of the servers for Destruction AllStars will be taken down.
Among the single-player content available to play for those who already own the game include the Arcade Mode and its challenges. However, the company has noted that “functionality and player experience may be impacted due to the server shutdown,” and that “all remaining game services will be taken offline.”
Multiplayer, however, has already stopped being accessible, with Sony citing “ongoing technical issues” for permanently disabling the feature.
Reports about Destruction AllStars being delisted from the PlayStation Store first came about earlier this week, with a search through the PlayStation Store across two different regions coming up empty. We noted that its PlayStation.com page was still live with an “Add to Wishlist” button and an “Announced” status. Aside from details about the title, however, most of the page remains empty, including player ratings and reviews, and even the “Editions” section, which previously included all of the editions that you could buy.
Destruction AllStars was released with a price tag of $19.99. PlayStation Plus subscribers at the time, however, could have picked up a free copy of the title in the first two months of its release. The price tag may have played a role in the game not amassing a large enough player base, and rumors started popping up just a year after its initial release that it might be going fully free-to-play.
In our review, we gave Destruction AllStars a score of 7 out of 10 thanks to its strong vehicular combat, tight and responsive controls, and solid performance.
Developed by Lucid Games, Destruction AllStars was one of the first few PS5-exclusive titles to be released. The title framed its multiplayer gameplay as a “global sports entertainment event where stars and cars collide”, with players picking one out of 16 characters, each equipped with their own unique hero vehicles. While there was an emphasis on vehicle combat, Destruction AllStars also featured on-foot gameplay when a player decided to eject from their vehicle. While on foot, players had to deal with the more powerful weaponry equipped on their opponents’ vehicles by making use of unique skills, like being able to hijack another player’s vehicle or going invisible.
Since the release of Destruction AllStars, Lucid Games has moved on to other projects. As of 2023, the studio had begun working with Rare to support the development of Sea of Thieves. July 2023 saw the studio getting acquired by LightSpeed Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent. Announcing this acquisition, Lucid Games said that “we’ll continue to enjoy full independence in the games that we create and the operation of the studio, while having support from LightSpeed Studios’ global network and technology capabilities.”
