The pre-season period for Amazon’s video game Crucible has been extended indefinitely. Besides, the company is removing the Alpha Hunters and Command modes and keeping just Heart of the Hives.
The move, shared on the game’s official website, follows a slow start for the free-to-play game, which at the time of publishing has less than 100 viewers on streaming platform Twitch – which its parent company owns.
According to Steam Spy, Crucible had a peak concurrent player count of less than 1,000 this weekend, which is less than expected for a free-to-play title backed by a major corporation. Crucible is the Twitch owner’s first big stride into game software, as part of what is said to be an investment of “hundreds of millions of dollars” into game creation.
The updated game direction will have two phases. In the first, the company will “build and iterate” on core aspects by introducing “voice chat, a surrender option, a system to deal with AFK players ruining matches, an expanded ping system and potentially some form of mini-map.”
The second phase will focus on bringing additional systems and polish that will help elevate the Crucible experience. The plans for improvement in this phase include custom tailoring the map for Heart of the Hives and improving the creatures in the world, among others.