Embracing older multiplayer: Why a publisher chose P2P and community
There is something deeply frustrating about watching great games vanish. Studios pour years of passion, talent, and resources into a multiplayer concept, banking on it catching fire as a live-service hit. Then, when the momentum stalls, the project is often tossed into the digital bin. This cycle has plagued the industry, leaving a lingering sense that cool, complex ideas are doomed to fade.
The fate of Deceive Inc serves as a perfect example of this painful reality. This 2023 PvP shooter attracted a passionate, dedicated community, but after a year of support from developers like Sweet Bandits, the studio unexpectedly shut down in 2024. Fans were left to assume the game would quietly disappear into obscurity.
But just when despair seemed inevitable, an unexpected lifeline appeared. An announcement was made on the game’s Steam page detailing plans to keep the game alive, not through traditional live-service methods, but by empowering the community itself. Work is now underway to develop custom server tools and mod support, effectively handing control of the game to the players.
This pivot wasn’t driven by the original development team, but by the publisher, Tripwire Interactive. This move signals a fundamental shift in how they view the future of multiplayer gaming. Publishing director Bryan West explained the motivation behind this effort: they want players to be able to enjoy their games for as long as they want. As West put it, they are fighting to ensure their games don’t end up in a broken state simply because the market didn’t respond as expected.
The experience of Deceive Inc. taught Tripwire a tough lesson about the live-service model. While the game presented a friendly surface—a team of spies enacting stealth missions—it quickly revealed itself to be a hardcore shooter at its core. The focus on intense competitive mechanics, while captivating the dedicated core community, made the game less broadly accessible and made matchmaking increasingly sweaty.
This realization prompted a change in strategy. Tripwire is now prioritizing models that align better with the community’s preferences. Instead of chasing the traditional, costly live-service framework, the publisher is looking toward models that leverage peer-to-peer setups and community-run servers, much like the successful Valheim approach.
In this new paradigm, the focus shifts from massive, ongoing corporate management to fostering a “friend game night” experience. For complex, niche multiplayer titles like Deceive Inc., the best way forward might be less about a single, monolithic service and more about letting the community run the show. It turns a difficult, crunchy shooter into a vibrant, enduring social experience.
And so, Deceive Inc. remains on Steam, alive and well. With community tools and modding in development, the game is evolving into something new—a testament to the fact that the most resilient multiplayer experiences often thrive when the community is given the keys to the kingdom.
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