Last week Hi-Rez Studios updated Tribes: Ascend for the first time in two years, an update that they're saying is for the hardcore that stuck with the PC shooter through thick and thin.
However, creative director Sean McBride has revealed that the studio plans to come back and update the game further, in the process hopefully breathing new life into a game that was essentially cut loose by the studio.
Will the new level of support bring players back into the fold, and more importantly for the studio, will they stick around?
"That's partly why we're experimenting with game modes right now," McBride told PC Gamer. "If we bring back the middle core player, the people who really loved the game but didn't stick around for very long, if they come back around and there's nothing really that new, like a new game mode that is a very different experience, they're probably going to drop out again after about a month."
So why did players leave in the first place? The game's creative director explained that part of the problem was due to the studio not listening to their community as much as they might have done, admitting that they were partially blinded by the game's critical success, although there were other factors:
"As soon as Diablo came out our numbers tanked and we never recovered from those numbers," McBride said. "That definitely wasn't the reason we didn't take off. We were already starting to dip, but once you lose the players it's hard to get them back."
Part of the problem was that once the game had issues and player support dwindled, many of the team switched their attention to Smite, a game that has been altogether more successful for the team.
Will the changes made by Hi-Rez been enough to breathe new life into their fast-paced shooter? Time will ultimately tell on this one, but it's a decent game and we'd like to see it given a chance to thrive once more.