It brings me great sadness. I genuinely cherished Friday the 13th: The Game. Granted, it had its flaws, but it still stood strong as an effective asymmetrical horror game. The dedicated squad at Illfonic was behind it. Although Illfonic had to shift their focus to other games of similar genre such as Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed and Killer Klowns from Outer Space The Game, the chaos at Camp Crystal Lake ceases today.
What makes this even more disheartening is that the major issues with the game’s development had nothing to do with the Illfonic team. They were unintentionally trapped between a legal battle involving the original creators and the IP’s then owners. Regrettably, the stalemate stretched too long and the game lost its traction.
Earlier this year, the game was made entirely free when the team disclosed their licensing expiry. That allowed players to enjoy the game until today. By the start of the new year, the servers will shut down. There’s a slight possibility that the game may still be playable tomorrow based on the “at least” stipulation in the original announcement. However, it’s not a good idea to keep high hopes. The team’s repeated announcement earlier this month was a “reminder” suggesting that the last day remains December 31st.
But who can tell? Jason never really seems to have a conclusive “last” day…
