DEADROP’s Future in Limbo as Midnight Society Closes Its Doors

ChainPlay

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15 hours ago

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Another web3 gaming studio has fallen. This time, it's the first-person shooter of DEADROP's creators, Midnight Society. The game will probably never be released, even though it takes a different approach to the extraction shooter genre. On January 30th, Midnight Society publicly announced its closure. This marks the end of a three-year trip. Quinn Delhoyo, Robert Bowling, and Dr. Disrespect (Guy Beahm) created the studio with the goal of redefining multiplayer shooters through a player-driven methodology. However, its demise was caused by industrial difficulties, leadership problems, and financial difficulties.

Midnight Society Shuts Down: Financial Struggles

The studio's inability to obtain further funds to complete DEADROP was a major factor in its demise. According to former employee Rich Cabrera, the game was only approximately 85% finished, but the studio was unable to secure more funding to finish it. 

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Over the last three years, Midnight Society has raised more than $11 million.. While that sounds like a lot, it was far from enough for AAA game development. The team explored different funding options, including:

• A community buyout where fans could help fund the game.
• Expanding NFT sales and token-based fundraising.
• Potential acquisitions.

None of these efforts succeeded in time, leading to the studio's shutdown before any deals could be finalized.

The Fallout with Dr. Disrespect

Midnight Society was associated with Dr. Disrespect, one of the most well-known online gamers, for the majority of its existence. But after claims of improper connections with a youngster during his tenure at Twitch arose, the studio severed its relationship with him in June 2024.

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The cause behind Dr. Disrespect's 2020 Twitch ban was unclear. Details were made public in 2024 after he was accused of having graphic discussions with a minor by a former Twitch employee.In response, Midnight Society broke off ties with Beahm, declaring:

"Even though hearing and accepting these truths can be challenging, it is our responsibility to behave honorably on behalf of everyone concerned, particularly the fifty-five developers and families we have hired as well as our player community.."

Dr. Disrespect denied any wrongdoing, stating: "I didn't make a mistake. All of this has been investigated and resolved. No wrongdoing or unlawful activity was discovered, and I received payment."

Regardless, the damage was done. Without Dr. Disrespect, DEADROP lost its most marketable face. Community trust in the project weakened.

Beyond internal struggles, DEADROP faced tough competition. With the popularity of games like Off the Grid, the extraction shooter genre was expanding quickly. Shrapnel and other web3 FPS projects encountered their own challenges. Midnight Society's announcement of significant layoffs in September 2024 was an indication that the studio was having trouble. The end was certain by early 2025.

Although DEADROP is almost ready for launch, its future is still up in the air. The game's final build is now owned by the board and investors. Cabrera suggested that a buyout or acquisition would be difficult.

The Rise and Fall of DEADROP

Midnight Society was founded in December 2021. Its goal was to build a community-first multiplayer shooter. The founding team included:

• Dr. Disrespect – Former Call of Duty map designer and popular game streamer.
• Robert Bowling – Ex-Call of Duty creative strategist.
• Quinn Delhoyo was the lead designer of 343 Industries, the Halo developer.

In July 2022, they jointly launched DEADROP, which they previously dubbed Project Moon. The game combined verticality-focused gameplay with battle royale components to guarantee a distinctive "Vertical Extraction Shooter" experience. 

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The team created "Snapshots"—early playable builds that are only accessible to Founders Pass NFT holders—to include gamers in the development process. Known as "Variants," these players contributed to the game's development and were given unique in-game avatars.

This strategy restricted the player base to NFT buyers, despite its ambition. This made it harder to gain widespread popularity.

With over 55 developers now out of work, Midnight Society has reached out to other studios to hire its team.

"In order to provide our outstanding team members with career opportunities, we are actively looking for other gaming studios. For direct introductions, DM us or forward this message to anyone you know that is hiring”. 

Other studios may hire some members. Others might start a brand-new, autonomous group. It is uncertain whether the creators of DEADROP will bring the project back to life somewhere else. The difficulties of creating web3 games are brought to light by the demise of Midnight Society. Although blockchain-based games provide new degrees of involvement, they are not yet widely accepted. 

Developing a game is costly. Even promising projects may fail before they are launched if ongoing funding is not available. DEADROP is currently in limbo, and investors are losing money on token sales and NFTs. Midnight Society's shutdown is only another illustration of how unstable web3 gaming can be.