Sweet Bandits announced on December 3, 2024, that its team was no more. That was the closure of Deceive Inc.’s developer—not an announcement that the game’s servers were shutting down. Tripwire Interactive later outlined plans to rebuild the game’s backend for community-hosted servers, but its latest retrieved update does not confirm whether a September 2026 rollout attempt succeeded.
What Sweet Bandits announced
In a message to players posted to Deceive Inc.’s official Steam news page on December 3, 2024, the studio wrote, “The Sweet Bandits team is no more.” Signed “Baribandit,” the post said the team had spent a long, difficult period trying to get the game into a state where it could thrive, had reached its breaking point, and could not continue. It did not give financial results, a staff count, or a more specific explanation for the closure. Sweet Bandits’ announcement and the game’s official Steam news archive
Game Developer reported the closure the following day, describing Sweet Bandits as a Canadian indie studio. Its report said Deceive Inc. launched in March 2023. Any player-count or review figures in that 2024 coverage are historical, not evidence of the game’s current activity. Game Developer’s December 4, 2024 report
Did Deceive Inc. shut down with the studio?
No immediate game shutdown was announced alongside the studio closure. Sweet Bandits said Tripwire Interactive was considering ways to maintain the game and that “Servers and matching will remain up for the foreseeable future.” That described the outlook at the time; it was not a promise of permanent service.
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The distinction matters: a developer can close while a publisher continues to operate or change a game. In July 2026, Tripwire described a separate effort to change how Deceive Inc.’s multiplayer backend works. The official updates retrieved through September 23, 2026 show testing, a failed live rollout attempt and rollback, and a scheduled attempt to roll out another patch. They do not establish the outcome of that later attempt or confirm current service availability.
What Tripwire planned for community servers
In a July 16, 2026 Steam post, Tripwire said it was rebuilding the backend to support community-hosted dedicated servers. The publisher’s stated plans included an in-game community server browser and a dedicated-server application. It also said it aimed to preserve account progress, unlocks, and stats through the transition. These were goals and planned features, not confirmation that the migration was complete. PC Gamer’s July 16, 2026 report on Tripwire’s announcement
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Tripwire said the changes were planned for every platform. Its plan was for console players to join community-hosted servers through crossplay, while server hosting itself would be available on PC rather than directly on consoles.
What the 2026 testing and rollout updates say
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Tripwire’s August 26, 2026 beta instructions said the Dedicated Server Tools app was available in Steam libraries and provided setup and connection guidance. The post noted that Linux servers were available but had received limited in-depth testing. It also identified bot issues in Duos and Trios, and warned that port forwarding, operating-system firewalls, and router settings could prevent connections. These are beta notes, not a definitive account of the game’s present status. Tripwire’s official beta instructions in the Steam news archive
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September rollout attempt and rollback
Tripwire’s September 8, 2026 update said a live rollout had encountered problems: a PC Easy Anti-Cheat issue could disconnect players after a match, and a console account-ingestion issue also needed attention. The publisher rolled back the attempt and said it might need more time and console builds.
A September 23 notice scheduled maintenance for September 24 to make another dedicated-server patch rollout attempt. The official archive retrieved through September 23 does not report what happened after that notice. It therefore cannot confirm that the migration succeeded, that all planned features are live, or that the game remains available on any particular platform today. Check the official Deceive Inc. Steam news archive for a later status update.
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What is known—and what is not—about the closure
Sweet Bandits’ own explanation was limited: the team said it had struggled to get Deceive Inc. into a sustainable position, had reached a breaking point, and could not carry on. The announcement did not identify a specific financial, staffing, or business cause. Later plans from Tripwire address the game’s service and hosting; they do not add a more detailed explanation for why Sweet Bandits closed.
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