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Tag: Asheron’s Call 2
Turbine Reneges On Private Server Plans, Shutting Down Asheron’s Call
Turbine Entertainment has announced that Asheron’s Call and Asheron’s Call 2 will shut down on January 31st, 2017, following the news this week that Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online would be spun off into a separate company with Turbine continuing to focus on the mobile gaming sector. Those of you who have followed the game for the past few years now will no doubt be wondering what happened to those private servers that Turbine announced nearly three years ago?
They aren’t coming. According to a post on the forums, while private servers were planned, the team at Turbine was unable to make the plans a reality.
We had hoped to be able to hand off our servers to the community, so our most loyal players could continue their journey through Dereth. Unfortunately, this is something we were unable to do.
Both games will be free to play until the servers shut down, with new account creation disabled entirely.
(Source: Asheron’s Call)
Asheron's Call Free To Play, Maintenance Mode
Turbine Entertainment has announced that Asheron’s Call will be heading free to play as of March 4th, although the game will be heading into maintenance mode at the same time. While there are no plans to shut down Asheron’s Call at any point in the near future, there will also no longer be any updates apart from maintenance, bug fixes, and a few tweaks here and there. There are also plans to allow players to run their own servers, as mentioned in the announcement:
In addition, we have been working within the company to start an initiative sometime near the end of the year to allow players to run their own Asheron’s Call servers. We intend to put the call out to tech savvy enthusiasts that love Asheron’s Call to create a community for players who want to run their own Asheron’s Call servers.
Both Asheron’s Call and Asheron’s Call 2 will be made available to play for free. Given the emphasis on player-operated servers and that the move will shut off what cash flow Asheron’s Call has left, all signs seem to point toward the sunsetting of b0th games in the next year or so, the official servers at the very least. At the very least, Turbine clearly recognizes the passion of their community and is one of an extremely small number of developers willing to hand their game over to the community when it is no longer financially viable for them to keep going.
We will have more details as they approach. Turbine has not commented on whether or not private servers will be possible for Asheron’s Call 2.
(Source: Asheron’s Call)
Asheron’s Call 2: What Happened
Dear AC2 subscribers,
In spite of our hard work and the launch of Legions, AC2 has reached the point where it no longer makes sense to continue the service. We will be officially closing the Asheron’s Call 2 service on 12/30/05. Until then, we plan to run live events, but we will not be adding any content or features.
We deeply appreciate the many dedicated fans of AC2 who have stood by us over the years. You have our sincerest gratitude.
Best regards,
Jeffrey Anderson
CEO, Turbine
Asheron’s Call 2 launched on November 22, 2002, as a sequel to the popular Asheron’s Call, developed and published by Turbine Entertainment Software. The game boasted an extensive crafting system with no level caps, that allowed players to excel in everything from various armor crafting, to weapons making, and onward. Experience was gained by questing, monster hunting, and even turning in treasure for gold. The player vs player mechanics were always consensual, offering a combination of duels, pvp zones, and pvp dedicated servers.
So what happened? Asheron’s Call, the original, is still running! For starters; Asheron’s Call 2 failed to gain the attention of the fans of the original, who cited massive gameplay changes, calling the game a sequel “only in name.” Asheron Call 2’s subscriber numbers peaked at a paltry 50,000, and depleted down to an estimated 10 to 15 thousand, as estimated by mmogchart.com. While Everquest/Everquest 2 shared the same scenario as Asheron’s Call, the major difference is that Everquest 2 managed to bring in enough new players to supplement those that would not transition over from the original, enough to stay afloat and continue expanding. Everquest was, and still is, a household title to the MMO genre, and such an ambitious venture did nothing but benefit SOE. Asheron’s Call, on the other hand, is not a household name, and was not equipped well enough for such a project.
Asheron’s Call 2 is lived on by its predecessor, Asheron’s Call. Although Turbine refuses to reveal numbers, it is estimated that Asheron’s Call has dropped below 10 thousand subscribers, meaning its days may be numbered as well.
MMO Fallout 