By Glu Games
Report updated Apr 17, 2026
Deer Hunter 2018
For adult mobile gamers interested in realistic hunting simulations and competitive trophy-hunting challenges.
Deer Hunter 2018 is an established games app that is available. With a 4.7/5 rating from 81.6K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate nostalgic gameplay, though abandoned live services remains a common concern.
What is Deer Hunter 2018?
Current Momentum
v5.2 · 63mo ago
ZombieDeer Hunter 2018 introduced the Hunting Season Experience and leaderboards in late 2020, but has not been updated since January 2021. The app is currently in a zombie state.
Active Nemesis
Hunting Clash: Sniper Game
By Ten Square Games S.A.
Other Rivals
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User MoodAI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?
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What Are The Key Features?
Access to diverse hunting environments worldwide, from Alaska to Zimbabwe.
Includes specialized modes like historical hunts, spear fishing, and competitive target shooting.
Detailed arsenal management allowing players to upgrade scopes, magazines, barrels, and stocks.
How much does it cost?
- Silver Subscription: $0.99/week or $1.99/month
- Gold Subscription: $1.99/week to $19.99/6 months
- Free-to-play with IAP and Ads
Aggressive monetization through tiered subscriptions that gate progression speed, energy, and reward multipliers. Users report being 'locked out' of modes like spearfishing unless they spend heavily.
Who Built It?
Glu Games
Providing casual gamers with high-stakes time management and realistic simulation experiences through iconic mobile franchises.
Portfolio
10
Apps
Who is Glu Games?
Glu Games has transitioned from a prolific independent developer to a specialized maintenance studio under Electronic Arts, focusing on the longevity of the DASH and Deer Hunter franchises. Their primary moat is the deep brand equity of the Flo IP, which allows them to sustain user engagement without frequent new launches. The current strategic tension lies in managing technical debt and monetization pivots within aging titles that lack modern infrastructure.
Who is Glu Games for?
- Casual gamers
- Adult mobile users seeking time-management challenges or realistic hunting simulations
Portfolio momentum
The publisher maintains a low update cadence with only two active titles and one release in the last six months.
What other apps does Glu Games make?
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 100 of 81.6K total reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate nostalgic gameplay and game variety, but report abandoned live services and technical stability and bugs.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What is the competitive landscape for Deer Hunter 2018?
How's The Games Market?
How does it evolve in the Games market?
| Country | Category | Chart | Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇹🇿 Tanzania | Action | iOSGrossing | #83 | ▲2 |
| 🇳🇵 Nepal | Simulation | iOSGrossing | #94 |
The rivals identified
The Nemesis
Head to Head
Hunting Clash has the clear edge due to its active development status. While Deer Hunter 2018 retains a loyal base through variety and nostalgia, its declining technical stability and lack of recent updates make it a secondary choice for users seeking a modern, competitive hunting experience.
What sets Deer Hunter 2018 apart
Broader variety of gameplay modes including spear fishing and historical hunts
Stronger brand recognition and nostalgia factor for long-time mobile gamers
What's Hunting Clash: Sniper Game's Edge
Significantly higher technical performance with fewer bugs and crashes
Active development cycle with new events and features added weekly
Contenders
Unique 2D minimalist art style that stands out from 3D simulators
Focuses on prehistoric hunting and spear-throwing physics rather than modern firearms
Wild Hunt: Hunting Games 3D
★4.5 (2)duong duc
A direct alternative focusing on realistic 3D environments and a wide variety of gear, maintaining a high level of active engagement.
Focuses more on realistic animal behavior and tracking mechanics
Offers a more traditional simulation feel compared to the arcade-leaning elements of Deer Hunter
Peers
Focuses on aquatic environments and species collection
Utilizes a similar tiered subscription and energy-based monetization model
Urban and tactical settings rather than wilderness environments
Mission-based progression focusing on human targets and hostage situations
New Kids on the Block
Heavy emphasis on fast-paced, real-time competitive matches
Streamlined UI and modern progression systems designed for shorter play sessions
The outtake for Deer Hunter 2018
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Strong brand recognition and long-term player nostalgia
- Unique gameplay modes (spear fishing, historical hunts) not found in all competitors
- High-fidelity 3D environments and animal assets
Critical Frictions
- No content updates since January 2021
- Critical progression-blocking bugs (Error 4.306.518)
- Removal of live events and online features
Growth Levers
- Re-activating live-ops to monetize the existing nostalgic user base
- Fixing technical stability to capture returning players
- Modernizing the competitive 1v1 PvP experience
Market Threats
- Hunting Clash's superior live-ops and technical performance
- Hunting Sniper's rapid growth in the competitive segment
- Platform obsolescence due to lack of maintenance
What are the next best moves?
Resolve Error Code 4.306.518
This is a top technical complaint preventing users from playing, directly causing churn among returning nostalgic players.
Re-enable or automate legacy Seasonal Events
Users report 'Abandoned Live Services' as a high-frequency complaint, stating they cannot make progress without these events.
Re-balance Spearfishing and Dog Training currency gates
Sentiment data shows users feel 'locked out' and in a 'loophole' where they cannot afford to progress in these specific modes.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Active weekly live-ops and events (available in Hunting Clash)
- Robust clan and social systems (available in Hunting Clash)
- Advanced 1v1 PvP modes (available in Hunting Clash and Hunting Sniper)
Key Takeaways
If I were the PM, I would recognize that Deer Hunter 2018 is currently coasting on brand legacy while bleeding users to Hunting Clash due to technical neglect. The strategic verdict is to either commit to a 'Stability & Live-Ops' patch to fix the 4.306 error and automate events, or officially sunset the title, as the current 'broken' state is damaging the Glu/EA brand reputation.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
Last updated Jan 2021 — indicates the app is in maintenance mode with no active feature investment.
Frustrated mood regarding 'Abandoned Live Services' — users feel the developer has stopped supporting the game's core loop.
High-frequency technical errors (Error 4.306.518) — suggests growing technical debt and platform incompatibility.