'Disintegration' developer V1 Interactive is shutting down

V1 Interactive, the indie studio behind the sci-fi tactical shooter Disintegration, has announced that it's officially shutting down less than a year after the game was released. The studio was founded by Marcus Lehto, the former Creative Art Director for Bungie Studios who oversaw the development of the Halo franchise. Disintegration was V1's first game — and now, it's the only game the company would have developed.

Despite the sudden announcement of its closure, V1's shutdown doesn't come as a complete surprise. The company removed Disintegration's multiplayer mode only six months after the game was launched in July 2020. It said its player base "showed interest in the single player campaign," but that the game "unfortunately struggled to build a significant audience necessary for a compelling multiplayer experience." Lehto also tweeted at the time that the game "never got a fair shake."

Disintegration is set 150 to 200 years in the future where it's the norm for people to get their brains transplanted into mechanical bodies to protect themselves from the effects of climate change, overpopulation and disease. It's played from a first—person POV, wherein you can issue commands to a four-person squad while providing aerial support from a hovering "Gravcycle."

On Twitter, Lehto said that the company has been transparent with its employees and is "making this decision now so they still have ample time to search for new jobs while being supported by [the] studio."