Let it Die is dying, but offering players a onetime purchase to keep it alive offline

Grasshopper Manufacture's Let It Die, a free-to-play combat-focused roguelike, is closing down its online servers this August, but it has an offer for you. A new offline version of Let it Die is being made available for purchase, which will strip out all of the live-service stuff and replace them with offline equivalents.

It's certainly one way to close down a game, and generally seems like a decent idea. Not that Let it Die is some undiscovered classic. The game sees you climbing the Tower of Barbs under instruction from Uncle Death, looting better gear and weapons as the enemy challenge increases with every floor. It's as stylish as you'd expect from a Grasshopper game, and the combat packs some real heft, but it never quite hung together for me.

Weirdly enough, one of the reasons for that was the game's monetisation, which could be overbearing at times: so this offline version is probably going to be a much better experience.

"Once the offline version is released, you can enjoy the Tower of Barbs to your heart's content without any restrictions," reads the Grasshopper announcement. "With a one-time purchase, you will get full access to Let It Die forever without any additional money transactions, in-game or otherwise."

The existing pass and premium currency sales have been stopped, though any that's still on your account can be used until July 30. Aspects of the game that worked with the premium currency include the continue system, storage expansion, and building out your home base: all of these will now operate via Kill Coins which are earned by just playing. Some features are being removed entirely however, such as the 'Hernia' vending machine.

The main gameplay system affected will be the base-raiding, called Tokyo Death Metro, whereby you'd raid other players' bases and fight their deployed troops and defenses (it's a little like the PvP side of MGSV: The Phantom Pain). This feature will remain, but now you'll be raiding AI-controlled bases.

Another aspect of the game Grasshopper doesn't address is the "Haters", monsters spawned by the deaths of other players that appear dotted around the Tower of Barbs. There is already an AI element to this, with some Haters being fixed AI loadouts, so presumably the offline version will transition to using those entirely.

Grasshopper doesn't say when the offline edition will launch, or the cost, other than that it will be available via Steam for both new and existing players.

"With the transition to offline version, the current support for Let it Die’s online service will come to an end on 8/31/2026 at 7pm PDT," ends the Grasshopper announcement. "It has been a hell of a ride these past nine years, and we would not have been able to make it this far without the undying support of our Senpais. We are working hard to pour all our love into developing the offline version for you all!

"The online service may be coming to an end, but Let It Die will continue to evolve. We hope you enjoy these last few months of Let It Die's online service, and we are looking forward to seeing you in Let It Die offline, Senpai!"