Exclusive to PlayStation 5 Firewall Ultra shuts down on September 17. Notice that Firewall Ultra would be shut down was done relatively quietly and without any fanfare, so PS5 players still playing the game may have been caught off guard.
Firewall Ultra was originally released back in 2023, a few months after the launch of PS VR 2. The game is a sequel to the game Firewall: Zero Hourwith both titles being developed by First Contact Entertainment. Although the game is approaching its third anniversary, First Contact Entertainment shut down at the end of 2023, which could soon be the writing on the wall for its last game.
It's officially the end of an era for PlayStation
Recent developments show a very clear picture that the latest era of PlayStation, the moments that defined the PS5, is over.
The PlayStation 5 exclusive is shutting down forever
Multiplayer shooter and exclusive to PS5 Firewall Ultra will be offline on September 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM PDT. Sony stated that since the game is only available online, it will become unplayable after that date. The shutdown lands just under a month after the game's third anniversary. Firewall Ultra was one of two PlayStation VR2 exclusive games released by Sony Interactive, the other being Horizon Call of the Mountain. Most of the VR games available on the device come from third parties, making this shutdown particularly unfortunate for Sony and PlayStation fans.
Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.
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Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.
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Surprisingly, Sony delivered the news in a very circular and quiet way. Instead of a new official post on the social media account or otherwise providing a clear announcement of the game's termination, the only indication came via an old post on the official PlayStation blog. In a story originally published on April 22, 2023, which related Firewall UltraAfter the launch the same week, Sony added an addendum stating that online features for the game and its ability to play will end in September. Despite the fact that Sony self-published the game, its discontinuation was announced with very little fanfare.
unfortunately, Firewall Ultra could never reach the heights of its predecessor, Firewall: Zero Hour. Released in 2018 for PlayStation VR, Firewall: Zero Hour assemble four-player teams with 12 playable characters, customizable weapon equipment, and an additional PVP mode called Contracts. The game was fairly well received with an average score of 78/100 from critics on OpenCritic. Although the title did not win any, it was also nominated for a number of awards, including the Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards in 2018.
Relatively, Firewall Ultra it only achieved a critic average of 65/100 on OpenCritic. Reviewers cited issues such as awkward controls that didn't feel like they were made with VR in mind, and alluded to the perceived lack of content available in the game. It's possible that the latter could have been modified over time, but since the developer quit shortly after, the game stagnated. Firewall Ultra has now been completely removed from the PlayStation Store. Unfortunately, this makes it one of the latest games to essentially become lost media once they go offline.
Even if the developers didn't stop, some players could see this as the PS VR2 has had problems since its release. Sony suspended production of PS VR2 headsets within a year of launch and significantly scaled back development in its VR Initiative. Virtual reality is still not a mainstream form of gaming, with far fewer games developed with VR in mind than those meant to be played on a standard screen. The price of the PSVR 2 may not have helped, as it went to market with an MSRP of $549.99, while its predecessor, the PS VR, was $399 at launch. Meta's VR headsets may also have caused problems for the PS VR2, as Meta Quest 3 came out later that year, ahead of the Christmas shopping season, and the fully standalone device cost $50 less than Sony's headset.
Source: Sony
