Star Vault Posts Lower Fourth Quarter


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Star Vault has posted their fourth quarter results for 2013, and the results are not looking so great. Net sales during the fourth quarter amounted to over eighty five thousand, a very small loss from the previous quarter. Net profit, on the other hand, dropped further into the red to one hundred fifty three thousand.

Despite this loss, Star Vault reported an increase in monthly payments during the fourth quarter compared to the third with CEO Henrik Nystrom claiming a positive increase in player activity over the year. In September, Mortal Online was approved for release on Steam through the Greenlight program, which will open the game to a wider audience.

Henrik Nystrom commented on the upcoming Steam launch:

Thanks to hard work and a faithful, active player community became Mortal Online, in competition with 15,000 other games around the world, approved to be listed on STEAM. STEAM is the world’s largest online distributor of PC games and we were voted by over 70,000 players. Mortal Online will then be posted on a global playlist daily visited by between 4-6 million players worldwide.

Through private placements and player donations, we have added the capital required for achieving progress and deliver new features, but especially to hone in on the launch so that it is just as good as global players require today. We are also working to expand the so-called “physical game faces” in Mortal Online, which means that we can handle more players.

We have seen a cautious positive trend of increased player activity during the year and now look forward to the upcoming launch of exciting opportunities.

The upcoming Annual General Meeting will decide on a replacement for the position of deputy director following the passing of Ulfric Nystrom.

(Source: AktieTorget)

MMOrning Shots: Shroud of the Avatars


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from Portalarium, showcasing the latest update to the Shroud of the Avatar playable build. Release phase three introduces multiplayer and its associated functions (chat, friends, ignore, etc) as well as a number of improvements to crafting, housing, performance, and more. Servers for release phase 3 are up from February 20th through the 22nd.

Check out MMOrning Shots every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Eve Online Graphic Novel Released


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CCP Games has announced that the first issue of Eve: True Stories is now available for download. The graphic novel series follows the real events of players in the game Eve Online, with the first issue in the series devoted to the fall of the Band of Brothers alliance. The novel is published by Dark Horse Digital, written by Daniel Way (Deadpool) and features the artwork of Tomm Coker (Daredevil Noir) and David Palumbo (Aliens).

Interested readers can nab the issue for free using the Dark Horse app. Three more issues are set to release over the course of March and into early April, with a hardcover edition coming in June. More information can be found at the link below.

(More Info: Eve Online)

Salem Resetting Characters and Merging Servers


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Hang on to your britches, pilgrims. We haven’t heard from Salem in quite a while, so today’s news probably isn’t all that surprising. In order to consolidate players and implement a new map generation system, the folks at Seatribe have announced the game will be wiped and restarted under a new server.

  • The current server architecture is overestablished compared to our actual needs. Long term it is not feasible for us to keep running multiple servers dropping to as low as single digit populations during off-hours. A reset allows us to concentrate population to one, cardinal server, which appears more in line with the game’s actual needs.

Several players have welcomed the upcoming wipe, noting that a power disparity has allowed a select few to essentially take over servers and kill anyone who might present a threat or progress in any meaningful way. Earlier last year, Paradox Interactive cut involvement with Salem, returning full development back to Seatribe.

(Source: Salem)

MMOrning Shots: A City Fallen


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes from Guild Wars 2, where players are currently doing their best to fight back in the battle for Lion’s Arch. Players are tasked with rescuing citizens and animals and fighting back Scarlet’s minions. I would have stayed longer, but the miasma made the area too lethal to remain in any longer.

Check out MMOrning Shots every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. To submit your own screenshot, send an email to contact@mmofallout.com.

Webzen Posts 67% Drop In Annual Profits


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Webzen has released their 2013 earnings release, and the results are a mixture of bad and probably salvageable. Despite a 26% rise in revenue over last year, operating profits dropped by 67%. To put the loss into better perspective, Webzen’s 2012 revenue amounted to $53.6 million USD (approximately), with $45.6 million of that going toward operating expenses, leaving around $8 million left as operating profit and that doesn’t even factor in taxes. In 2013, while revenue gained 26% to $67.47 million, operating costs surged even higher by 42% to $64.87 million. So while revenues grew during the year, operating costs resulted in the final operating profit plummeting.

With a number of titles still in development, Webzen’s portfolio is looking rather slim at the moment. The last year saw the shuttering of Archlord, SUN, and Arctic Combat, with only two of the four games currently listed on Webzen’s global website actually being playable. Games like R2 and Mu Rebirth are still “upcoming,” with development continuing on other titles including Archlord 2. Also worth noting is that revenue from domestic sales fell slightly while overseas grew by a wide margin to 73% of Webzen’s total revenue.

Another factor of operating cost could be related to Webzen’s 100% acquisition of gPotato.com back in February.

(Source: Webzen Earnings)

Less Than Massive: Irrational Games Closure


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Ken Levine announced today that he plans to shut down the Irrational Games studio following the release of Bioshock Infinite’s next DLC, Burial at Sea Part 2. Levine and a select group of other developers from the studio will form anew under Take-Two Interactive in order to work on smaller games that provide a closer relationship with the customer.

The Bioshock franchise will remain with Take-Two Interactive.

(Source: Gamasutra)

Final Fantasy XIV Available On Steam and 50% Off


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Final Fantasy is now available on Steam, and deal seekers can log in now to nab the title for 50% off for the time being. Until February 25th, you can nab the standard edition for $14.99 and the Collector’s edition for $24.99, with the latter including several exclusive digital items. Each purchase comes with 30 days of free game time, providing the Square Enix account you register it to does not already have a copy of FFXIV registered to it. If you already own the standard edition, it is still cheaper to upgrade to the digital collector’s edition through the Square Enix website ($19.99) rather than by buying the edition on Steam even with the 50% off.

Offer ends February 25th.

(Source: Steam)

MMOrning Shots: Darkness Falls


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from Aventurine with Darkfall Unholy Wars. A recent patch to Darkfall changed the manner in which rewards are obtained by guild controlled villages. Rather than dumping the rewards in the guild vault, players must use new equipment for requisitioning rewards, as well as globules of greed obtained by bandits throughout the land. Only one player may requisition resources from the point at any given time, and can be interrupted by moving too far away, breaking contact, or being stabbed in the face. It is also possible for non-guild members to come in and steal village rewards.

I think. Check out MMOrning Shots every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only here at MMO Fallout.

Pantheon Flying Under Kickstarter Goal


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In case you haven’t been paying attention, Pantheon’s Kickstarter ends in just under a week. With six days left in the campaign, Pantheon’s Kickstarter has still yet to reach the halfway mark towards its $800 thousand goal. The fact that several high-level backers have apparently withdrawn their pledges doesn’t help the overall figures either. Regardless of what you blame the shortcomings on, it is more than evident at this point that, barring some magical second coming of Donald Trump, that Pantheon will not be meeting its goal.

As far as Pantheon goes, failure on Kickstarter is not the end of the game by a long shot. Brad McQuaid has posted numerous times on Twitter that work shall continue on the MMO while Visionary Realms seeks out alternate forms of investment.

(Source: Kickstarter)