After 10 years, Natural Selection 2 is no longer in active development
Unknown Worlds are focusing elsewhere
Natural Selection 2, the asymmetrical scifi shooter from the makers of Subnautica, is no longer in active development. Unknown Worlds say that after over ten years of support, it's now "time to look to the future and continue on to other projects within the company."
"Our team and this community have provided many years of passion and support for this game," says the announcement. "Over the years we had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with so many of you whether at an expo, live tournament, Discord or playing on a server. We thank you for your support and commitment to NS2 and know that this game would not have been the same without you."
While no developer will be actively working on Natural Selection 2, servers will remain online so the community can continue to play together or with bots. The game's most recent update was in December, which greatly revised bots and added a new map.
Natural Selection 2 was released in 2012, the commercial successor to a modification first released for Half-Life. It pits aliens against humans in first-person combat across spaceship interiors, and then integrates strategic elements by making one player on each team a "commander" who can issue orders, build structures, and plot a path through a research tree.
When these systems mesh together, Natural Selection 2 works great and offers a unique experience, although it often required more organisation and teamwork than you'd typically find among strangers on public servers. It was also just fun to be an alien who could walk on walls and ceilings and sneak up on marines.
While NS2 was only ever a modest success, Unknown Worlds followed it up six years later with survival smash hit Subnautica. Last year they released turn-based tactics 'em up Moonbreaker into early access, and they're seemingly also working on a new Subnautica.