Rebellion's CEO has provided more insight into why a battle royale game in the Sniper Elite series was canceled.
We first heard about the Sniper Elite battle royale last summer, but by November, reports emerged that the project was canceled after Tencent pulled funding. Rebellion, the studio behind the Sniper Elite series, never really explained why this battle royale was canceled. It was focused on promoting Sniper Elite Resistance, a single-player game that launched in January. In a new interview with The Game Business, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley revealed more about this project and why it was canceled.
"That was a bit of a one-off. We don't do work-for-hire. But we were very keen to learn about how Tencent worked. And Tencent were very keen to learn how we worked," Kingsley explained. "At the end of the day, we walked away because we felt the market had shifted entirely. We still have great relationships with them. It was one of those business opportunities that didn't get to the ultimate end that we were hoping for."
As the battle royale space is increasingly dominated by games like Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends, it seems that Rebellion and Tencent just didn't feel that a Sniper Elite battle royale could make a big enough splash this many years after the trend began. Rebellion has found success post-cancellation with the release of Atomfall in March, though.
Speaking more broadly about potentially being acquired by a bigger company, Kingsley also seemed unsure. "Is anybody going to try and buy us? I don't know. We would not be easy to buy because it would have to be something more than money. It would have to feel like it was getting involved in a bigger, and better entity somehow," he told The Game Business.
For now, it looks like Rebellion will remain independent while overseeing the future of franchises like Sniper Elite and Atomfall. Sniper Elite Resistance and Atomfall are currently available on PC, PS5, and X|S, as well as the Game Pass Ultimate catalog.
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We first heard about the Sniper Elite battle royale last summer, but by November, reports emerged that the project was canceled after Tencent pulled funding. Rebellion, the studio behind the Sniper Elite series, never really explained why this battle royale was canceled. It was focused on promoting Sniper Elite Resistance, a single-player game that launched in January. In a new interview with The Game Business, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley revealed more about this project and why it was canceled.
"That was a bit of a one-off. We don't do work-for-hire. But we were very keen to learn about how Tencent worked. And Tencent were very keen to learn how we worked," Kingsley explained. "At the end of the day, we walked away because we felt the market had shifted entirely. We still have great relationships with them. It was one of those business opportunities that didn't get to the ultimate end that we were hoping for."
As the battle royale space is increasingly dominated by games like Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends, it seems that Rebellion and Tencent just didn't feel that a Sniper Elite battle royale could make a big enough splash this many years after the trend began. Rebellion has found success post-cancellation with the release of Atomfall in March, though.
Speaking more broadly about potentially being acquired by a bigger company, Kingsley also seemed unsure. "Is anybody going to try and buy us? I don't know. We would not be easy to buy because it would have to be something more than money. It would have to feel like it was getting involved in a bigger, and better entity somehow," he told The Game Business.
For now, it looks like Rebellion will remain independent while overseeing the future of franchises like Sniper Elite and Atomfall. Sniper Elite Resistance and Atomfall are currently available on PC, PS5, and X|S, as well as the Game Pass Ultimate catalog.
Source