Katarzyna Petru
There was supposed to be a great return of RTS games, the spiritual successor to the cult classic StarCraft, but it turned out… particularly poor. Stormgate, the latest creation from Frost Giant studio, has had a spectacular flop since its release, and massive layoffs are already looming on the horizon.
From Dreams to Brutal Reality
Just a few months ago, Frost Giant promised a revolution in the genre. Stormgate was meant to combine classic RTS mechanics with a modern approach to gameplay and free-to-play. The launch of the story campaign in August 2025 was to be a turning point – the beginning of the game's expansion beyond its niche.
The problem is, the players... simply didn't show up.
Data from SteamDB is merciless
According to statistics from SteamDB, only 200–250 people play Stormgate daily at peak activity. For a free game with a budget exceeding 40 million dollars – this is a true catastrophe. In comparison, much smaller indie RTS games can attract several times more players without marketing campaigns and million-dollar investments.
Frost Giant sounds the alarm
At the gamescom 2025 fair, the studio's president, Tim Morten, openly admitted that the project is not generating the expected revenue. If the situation does not improve in the coming months, “large layoffs” and drastic cost cuts will be necessary.
These words sound like a death sentence for a considerable part of the team, who have believed for years in the revival of RTS games. Stormgate was supposed to be the title that restored glory to the genre – instead, it may become an example of one of the most expensive flops in recent years.
Do RTS games still have a future?
The Stormgate flop raises uncomfortable questions: is there still room for high-budget RTS games in today's industry? Or is the genre, which shone in the 90s and early 2000s, now only suitable for niche projects for a small group of enthusiasts?
For now, one thing is clear – 40 million dollars and years of work could end up in the dustbin of history, and Frost Giant will land in the same place where dozens of other studios dreaming of a return to the golden age of RTS games have become stuck.
