Paragon shuts down April 26

Last week, Epic Games openly pondered whether or not there was a way forward for Paragon, its free-to-play shooter that launched as a pay-to-play product in early 2016. The answer seems to have been "no," as the company today announced it would be shutting down Paragon on April 26.

"We truly appreciate everything you've put into Paragon," says a post on the game's website attributed to the Paragon team. "We received many passionate ideas for where to take the game; the outpouring of thoughtful suggestions is another testament to this incredible community. After careful consideration, and many difficult internal debates, we feel there isn't a clear path for us to grow Paragon into a MOBA that retains enough players to be sustainable. We didn't execute well enough to deliver on the promise of Paragon. We have failed you--despite the team's incredibly hard work--and we're sorry."

To "make this right," Epic is offering a full refund to all Paragon players for all purchases they made, regardless of the platform, by filling in a request form on Epic's website. (Console players will first need to create and link an Epic account before filing a request.)

Epic will run Paragon servers until April 26, but the company cautioned that matchmaking times and quality will degrade as the player population dwindles.

Fortunately for Epic, its other shooter Fortnite has taken off recently, and the resulting demand for more hands on deck had given a number of Paragon developers a project to transfer to recently.