Knockout City
by Velan Studios / EA / Velan Studios
About the Game
A team-based dodgeball game with trick shots, special ball types, and a seasonal live-service structure. Launched by EA, later transferred to developer Velan Studios.
Why the Developer Killed It
Publisher Handed Game Back to Developer
EA transferred Knockout City ownership to Velan Studios in March 2022. While framed positively, this removed the major-publisher distribution and marketing infrastructure the game needed to maintain its audience.
Seasonal Live-Service Fatigue
The game went free-to-play in 2022 and continued seasonal updates, but the live-service model required a sustained player base that seasonal content cycles alone could not maintain.
Cosmetics Sold for a Product Being Wound Down
Premium cosmetics were available for purchase during the final months before shutdown, leaving players with items for a game that would soon be inaccessible.
Knockout City launched in May 2021 with genuine goodwill: a clever premise, polished execution, and a free trial that let players in without commitment. EA published it and pushed it into their service infrastructure. The game found a core audience but not a massive one, and in March 2022, EA handed ownership back to Velan Studios — a move framed as giving the developer independence, but practically meaning the game lost EA's marketing muscle and platform distribution.
Velan made the game fully free-to-play in June 2022, continued seasonal content, and kept the servers running for another year. When it became clear the numbers weren't sustainable, they announced the June 6 2023 shutdown. The team took the notable step of releasing private server infrastructure so community members could continue hosting the game — a practice that stands in contrast to publishers like Ubisoft, who made no such provision for The Crew.
Knockout City's shutdown is the least egregious entry in this list. The studio maintained the game beyond commercial viability, gave advance notice, and provided tools for continuation. But it remains a shuttered live-service game — players who had purchased premium cosmetics lost their investment, and a product that had found a genuine community was taken offline by economics, not by failure of the game itself.
Information sourced from public records, press coverage, and developer announcements.