Up’s sole developer removes hit game from Steam due to ‘stress’

Just a few months ago, the indie climbing game “Only Up” garnered a massive audience on Twitch, with streamers like xQC, Ninja, and Pokimane broadcasting the heavy, punchy experience to More than 279,000 simultaneous viewers. Now the game developer It was suddenly removed From PC gaming store Stream, citing months of “tension.”

In the Steam update note Attached to the game now removedOnly Up’s creator, Indiesolodev, has explained why the once popular game has disappeared from the main market platform.

He wrote, “I am a solo developer and this game is my first experience in developing video games. I made this game out of creativity, to test myself and where I made many mistakes.” “The game has caused me a lot of stress all these months. Now I want to leave the game behind.”

“The game will not be available on Steam at this time, that’s what I’ve decided,” Indesoldev added. “What I need now is peace of mind and healing.”

The developer explained that as a game design student, he no longer wanted to worry about Only Up support, but instead wanted to “take a break” and then continue his education.

Only Up’s developer also said it wanted to focus on developing its next game, one that is “realistic, with a completely different genre and setting, focused on cinematography”.

And through it all, he plans to create his next game, tentatively titled Kith, with a team.

Only Up has received nearly 13,000 reviews on Steam since its launch in May 2023. It has a “mostly positive” score of 71% from users, making it a positive experience.

In Only Up, players take on the role of a teenager named Jackie, who must climb to the top of the game world in an effort to “lift himself out of poverty and embark on a journey to learn about the world and yourself”.

The game has also attracted cryptocurrency enthusiasts with its diverse references Goblintown NFTsbut many others players They complained To use NFT art in Only Up. Fans of the game have Online speculation The developer of Only Up may have removed the game in part due to its use of copyrighted material, as it reports that Only Up also contains music from existing anime shows and video games such as Final Fantasy.