Uncertainty hangs over Harmonix’s F2P shooter Chroma

Harmonix has said that its free-to-play shooter Chroma needs a significant rethink.

The music-infused shooter was unveiled in February and has been in a period of alpha testing. However, in an email to players published by Polygon it appears that everything didn’t go quite to plan.

"Based on the terrific feedback we got from all of you in the community, as well as our own analysis, we have concluded that Chroma will need some substantial retooling to be the game we want it to be," it says.

"We remain passionately committed to the high-level vision, and we think there are some very successful mechanics and systems in the existing build. The team has, in fact, already started prototyping new directions for the game based on those successful mechanics. We look forward to sharing with you down the line, as Chroma evolves in new directions."

It could well be, of course, that the recent disruption at the studio – which lead to the loss of 37 jobs – could be an influencing factor.

As too could the rumoured cancellation of a Kinect-only game in development at the studio prior to the removal of Kinect from some Xbox One SKUs.

Harmonix recently staged a remarkable recovery to successfully crowdfund an Amplitude remake via Kickstarter.