Avalanche Studios has officially confirmed that the online servers for its long-running free-to-play simulator, theHunter: Classic, will permanently shut down on November 11, 2026. The developer cited a dwindling player base that has made maintaining the game’s infrastructure financially unsustainable. Originally released in 2009, the title has enjoyed an impressive 17-year run, but its tenure is finally drawing to a close.
Before the lights go out for good, players will have one final opportunity to participate in the game’s traditional seasonal event. The annual werewolf event is scheduled to run as planned from October 28 until the final shutdown date on November 11. Avalanche Studios clarified that microtransactions have already been disabled, preventing users from purchasing new in-game currency, though players can freely spend any existing balances over the next few months.
In a comprehensive Q&A published alongside the announcement on Steam, the studio addressed community concerns regarding preservation. Due to how the underlying core systems were built over a decade ago, developing an offline mode or self-hosted server option is technically unfeasible. Furthermore, physical retail discs will become entirely obsolete once the network closes, prompting the developers to warn fans against purchasing expensive second-hand copies online.
Fortunately, the studio confirmed that the sunsetting of this legacy title will not result in any employee layoffs, a rare piece of positive news in an industry currently plagued by corporate restructuring. While Classic is nearing its end, the franchise itself remains highly active. Its 2017 successor, theHunter: Call of the Wild, continues to maintain a healthy concurrent player base and receives regular post-launch support, including the recently released Peru Hunting Reserve expansion.
