Texas Chain Saw Massacre Getting The Chop
Gun Interactive, the publisher behind the asymmetrical multiplayer version of the 1974 cult horror film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, has announced that it’s ceasing any further development on the game. There will be a final update in May 2025 but then that’s it for content, and players are not happy.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre lets players wear the skin mask of murderous icon Leatherface or one of the other Sawyer family members (referred to as the Slaughter family in the game), as they hunt down and kill unlucky house guests. Alternatively, players can take on the role of a victim and try to make a break for it.
“We feel proud of the game we’ve made and we’re happy that we’re at a point where we feel The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has reached its full potential,” Gun Interactive said in a news post on its official site.
“From the very beginning, we’ve always had a clear and concise vision for this game. We wanted to push the envelope on multiplayer asymmetrical horror, shed light on this iconic film to a newer generation, and place folks into the beautiful but macabre world of Muerto County and we feel we have achieved that.”
Who Will Survive And What Will be Left of Them?
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released fairly recently in August 2023 and is available on all major platforms; Gun Interactive has said that although there won’t be any more content, the game will still be available to play.
“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will not be receiving any further future content or support. This means that there will be no more DLC, balance updates, or bug fixes, after our upcoming May patch. You can still expect a few more patches in the future in order to transition towards peer-to-peer matchmaking. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will still be playable and is NOT being delisted from store fronts.”
However, gamers into asymmetrical horror may be getting a strong sense of deja vu by this point. Gun Interactive was formerly known as Gun Media, and was also the publisher of Friday The 13th: The Game (2017). This put players in the hockey mask of silent murder-machine Jason Vorhees (or a victim) but was removed from sale at the end of 2023, then taken offline for good at the end of 2024.
This was a case of the license expiring, though, rather than Gun explicitly saying the game was as good as it could be. Horror-themed multiplayer games based on existing IP can have a limited shelf-life, whether due to copyright, the cost of running a live service title, or even straightforward business deals.
Swallow Your Soul
This latter point appears to be the case with Evil Dead: The Game, yet another asymmetrical multiplayer horror game, that was released in 2022 but pulled from sale on Wednesday April 30, 2025.
The developer and publisher is Saber Interactive, which was sold to Beacon International in March 2024. Beacon International is run by a co-founder of Saber, Matthew Karch, and it was made known that the deal included a range of licensed games such as Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, Jurassic Park: Survival, and even a John Carpenter game.
Therefore, it’s not unreasonable to believe that Evil Dead was included, meaning that while it’s not available now, it may well reappear in some form in the future.
The Saw is Family
There isn’t likely to be any such luck for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, though. Although servers and the game will remain online for now, players have voiced their concerns on social media that both will go the way of the dodo before too long.
It’s worth noting that, while Gun has posted multiple articles on its official sites detailing news related to the development of the game over the last two years, Texas Chain Saw Massacre was actually fully developed by Sumo Digital.
This is a collective of 16 studios across the globe, with Sumo Nottingham and Sumo India handling development of Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Sumo Digital has not made any comment regarding the end of game development.
Friday the 13th: The Game may have been published by Gun, but this too was developed by someone else. In this case, Illfonic, a Colorado and Washington-based studio behind other licensed games, namely Predator: Hunting Grounds, Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game, and Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed.
Mad And Macabre
Players have not been shy in voicing their opinions on the Texas Chain Saw Massacre news, with many drawing parallels with the removal of Friday The 13th.
“Content was so strung out that it took 6-7 months just to get a new map. And, well, here we are at the end of the game’s life cycle. Gun claims this is the ‘peak’ of the game’s life, but man what an awful lie that was. Gun, if you touch another horror IP and butcher it like you did with Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, don’t ever expect to see another dollar from me.”
“Saying the game has reached its full potential; after only two years, less than 10 new characters, and only three new maps being added in the two year span is beyond absurd and embarrassing.”
“Don’t waste your time with TCM or any future game made by Gun, worthless pump and dump scheme devs.”
Gun, for its part, has expressed its content with what it achieved with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: “As a creative studio, it’s imperative to communicate that we’ve seen this vision through to the natural creative end. We are a scrappy group of horror heads and artists continuously working on bringing cinematic experiences to you all.”
