2K Relents To Fans Turns Servers On For Abandoned 4v1 Online Game

Online-only Evolve gets second lease on life, complete with matchmaking.

Sam Machkovech - Jul 25, 2022 9:14 pm UTC

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Evolve is a four-on-1 online shooter. However, the reverse is true. And, in a surprising twist, Turtle Rock-published Evolve has been given more life this week that in the four year period since its support was ended.

Stage 2... part 2

Before I get into details, let me clarify the worst news. The game, which was previously free to play, is now almost impossible to access if it wasn't already yours or yours. In addition, there's no clear way to play it due to its delisting from online retailers in Sept 2018. It's possible that working download keys to the game's free, or F2P, version are still available.

When the game was delisted, 2K games clarified that it would continue supporting "Legacy Evolve," an older version of the game with fewer available characters and options via a barebones peer-to-peer (P2P) matchmaking service built into the game. With this support and custom lobby options, both PC and console gamers could continue to enjoy a game Ars Technica disliked when it launched back in 2015.

Fans noticed something several weeks later: The game’s final official version, known as Evolve 2 Stage 2, seemed to be working on PC again. It could have been switched back on June 8. 2K Games didn't make any announcement about the Legacy Evolve server being reconnected. Wow wiki The official support page for the game has been offline for almost four years. Ars Technica reached out for comment from 2K Games, but they didn't respond immediately. Evolve Stage 2's built in P2P matchmaking system for PC is now operational. It even supports some of the "progressions" systems that were added to the game's F2P patch in 2016. One of the most amusing reactions to the news was from an ex-Evolve developer, who posted on a Reddit thread: "Omg! I am so excited." Downloading it now.")

Reach a new monster-hunting accord via Discord

All in-game purchase have been disabled. The prompts about 2K servers need to be ignored or bypassed if you want to access a basic "arcade" matchmaking system. Ars Technica still downloaded the 60GB game on Windows PC, and confirmed that its unique "one beast versus four hunters" online combat was fully functional.

Further Reading

Evolve Stage 2 isn't perfect, but there are still issues that could have been addressed with additional content updates and bug fixes. It's unlikely the Turtle Rock Studios original developers, who went on to Back 4 Blood, or the publishing team at 2K Games will ever get together to update Evolve. So it'll likely remain as an unfinished execution, if not finished. Evolve Stage 2 has been preserved as an important piece of unique online cooperative gaming history. It is recommended to anyone who didn’t miss their chance in 2018 and wanted to grab a copy. The genre has seen great success thanks to Capcom.