EXCLUSIVE – Sniper Elite’s Battle Royale Game Has Been Canceled as Tencent Pulls Funding

Just a few months after its announcement, Rebellion has canceled its Sniper Elite Battle Royale game, Archipelago.

First announced in August 2024, Project Archipelago, internally known as Sniper Island, was a team-based multiplayer Battle Royale in which teams of three battled it out to be the last to survive. The game had its last Alpha playtests in mid-August 2024.

Insider Gaming understands that the game was canceled because Tencent decided not to continue funding the project. While we’ve not been able to pinpoint the exact reason, Rebellion higher-ups implied in meetings with staff that funding was pulled due to the disastrous launch of Firewalk Studios’ Concord, which caused Tencent to get skittish about some of its projects.

Archipelago’s announcement didn’t necessarily go down well with Sniper Elite fans, either. Its reveal was criticized on the official Rebellion YouTube channel, with fans confused over Rebellion’s decision to move from single-player games to a Battle Royale.

It’s understood that despite the game’s cancellation, no one’s employment was affected, with staff being moved to other projects, including Sniper Elite: Resistance, its next mainline Sniper Elite game.

Insider Gaming asked Rebellion to comment before publication, but they declined to comment.

Would you have liked to play Sniper Elite’s Battle Royale game Archipelago? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forums.

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