Tag: cancelled

Bullet Run Sunsetting March 8th


BulletRun 2012-08-01 00-15-38-13

Back when I reviewed Bullet Run by Sony Online Entertainment, I noted that while the game was fun, it seriously lacked content. At launch, Bullet Run carried just two game modes (Team deathmatch and Dominion) while at the same time featuring a fully fleshed out cash shop. Bullet Run faced the same problem that many other free to play shooters do: There simply wasn’t enough content. The game itself could be functional and mostly bug free, as well as free itself, but in an era where first person shooters are literally a dime a dozen, and the competing free to play FPS titles have an insane amount of content and have long established their user base, the competition is cut throat.

Whether you put it up to a lack of content, an overbearing cash shop,  or some other reason, Bullet Run is coming to an end as of March 8th.

After much review and consideration, Acony Games and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) have mutually made the decision to discontinue development on the free-to-play FPS game, Bullet Run. As a result, SOE and Acony will sunset the game and end all game services for Bullet Run on March 8, 2013. We would like to thank the players for their dedication and support of the game.

As with any other shut down, players will be refunded for any membership extending past February 1st on a prorated level.

(Source: Press Release)

Star Trek: Infinite Space Cancelled, No Publisher Found


Star Trek: Infinite Space was announced a couple of years back by Gameforge as a browser-based free to play title. Set in the Deep Space Nine sector of the Star Trek universe, Infinite Space had the consultation powers of Denise and Michael Okuda to make sure that the game stayed true to the series. Unfortunately, times have not been great for the German developer, as last year the company was hit with layoffs that saw 100 staff cut and the cancellation of Mythos and Hellbreed. No longer able to publish the game themselves, Gameforge paused the beta in an attempt to find a co-publisher.

Well it seems that the endeavor has not been met with success, and Games Industry has reported that the project has been cancelled.

“”Unfortunately, our efforts were not successful. So we have decided with a heavy heart to finally abandon the project Star Trek: Infinite Space. The discontinuation is very regrettable. “

(Source: Gamesindustry.biz)

Jagex Rethinking RuneScape Bonus Experience Weekends


Bonus XP weekends may be on their way out in RuneScape. While well intended in nature, the events tend to play hell with the economy, with the prices of goods spiking from the time of announcement until the event, with prices of finished goods crashing afterward as players flood the market with millions of crafted items. Not that this means the end of bonus experience events. Jagex occasionally releases special items which boost xp in activities, which will likely fully replace the weekend events.

With an economy heavily focused around the manufacturing and selling of player-crafted goods, RuneScape sits on a different pedestal where a weekend event like the one Jagex has run for the past few years could be more detrimental than helpful. Only time will tell as to how Jagex will replace the current bonus weekend system.

Development Sunsets On Stellar Dawn


Back in August I wrote an article titled “Does Jagex Have Any Enthusiasm For Stellar Dawn?” In it, I referred to the disconnect between the complete lack of information regarding Jagex’s upcoming MMO and the fact that in August of the (at the time) release year, information on the game was virtually nonexistent. No screenshots, very vague trailers, and barely enough information regarding gameplay t fill a synopsis. Considering Jagex’s upcoming release of Transformers Universe, and the fact that Stellar Dawn is already saddled with the major financial disaster that was MechScape, I questioned whether or not Jagex had the will or desire to ever complete Stellar Dawn.

Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard has confirmed today that development on Stellar Dawn has ceased. In a post on the RuneScape forums, Gerhard says that the decision was not made lightly and was driven by the need to concentrate resources on Jagex’s other titles.

Rest assured that we will review the status of the Stellar Dawn project in the future so long as an appetite for the game remains. I hope Jagex can rely on your ongoing support.

So Stellar Dawn’s future is uncertain at best.

(Source: RuneScape forums)

TERA Weekend Event Postponed


“The sneak peek event planned for this weekend unfortunately has had to be cancelled. As we currently cannot foresee when we will be able to guarantee a smooth running of the event, there is no new date as of yet. We’re working closely with the TERA developers at Bluehole to fix the remaining issues.

The cancellation was not due to load problems caused by the large number of potential players. Player numbers would have given us a look into possible issues within the scope of a stress test. Due to unforeseen reasons, problems arose already during the entry into the game world.

As soon as we have new information regarding a rescheduled event planning and once all technical issues have been resolved we will inform you on our website, in the forum and via the usual social media channels.

We apologize for the cancellation of the event and assure you that we are doing our utmost to provide all players access to TERA as soon as possible. We thank all TERA fans for their patience and understanding and hope to have positive news for you very soon.

From the TERA Europe Facebook page.

Blizzcon 2012 Cancelled, Blizzard Too Busy


Since 2005, Blizzcon has been a place of reveals, a chance to check out new Blizzard games early, and an opportunity to see just how scantily clad a Blood Elf can get. However, in a nod to Blizzard’s current heavy work load, Blizzcon has been canned until 2013. Currently, of course, Blizzard is on full production of the next World of Warcraft expansion, the next Starcraft 2 game, Diablo 3, and the mysterious Project Titan, among other projects.

It’s easy to forget just how much work and money goes into a convention, that could be better spent on development and marketing. Still, no doubt players will be disappointed if they had a costume set up to show off this year.

Until next year, friends.

Warhammer 40k MMO Cancelled Among Others


[UPDATE] THQ has given an official statement. Turns out Kevin Dent was full of it.

THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO.

[ORIGINAL] It is a sad day for fans hopeful that Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online could be what Warhammer Online was not. According to Kevin Dent, industry veteran, THQ has canned the upcoming MMO. The cancellation comes alongside information that THQ has wiped all of its 2014 release titles off of the table, and is returning its licenses on all applicable intellectual properties associated with those projects. Dent’s tweet:

“Apparently, The Game Workshops MMO has been cancelled by THQ”

Granted, there has been no official announcement by THQ that the Warhammer 40k MMO is cancelled, so there is still hope. Hopefully. More on this story as it appears.

Bethesda Wins Lawsuit, Interplay Fallout MMO Terminated


War. War never changes. And neither does litigation. Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax Studios announced today the results of the recent settlement between Bethesda and Interplay, over the rights of the Fallout MMO. In the settlement, Zenimax has come out on top, retaining all rights to the Fallout name and ensuring anything Interplay was working on is now worth zilch.

Under the terms of the settlement, the license granted to Interplay to develop the Fallout MMO is null and void, and all rights granted to Interplay to develop a Fallout MMO revert back to Bethesda, effective immediately. Interplay has no ongoing right to use the Fallout brand or any Fallout intellectual property for any game development. ZeniMax will pay Interplay $2 million as consideration in the settlement, each party will bear its own costs of the litigation, and Bethesda will continue to own all Fallout intellectual property rights.

In addition, Interplay will also lose the rights to publish Fallout 1 and 2 in 2013. You may remember that Interplay had sublicensed the Fallout brand to Masthead Studios (the Earthrise developers). In a separate filing, Bethesda sued Masthead (and settled on December 29th) for copyright infringement and assorted intellectual property violations, as it turns out Interplay was not allowed to sublicense without the approval of Bethesda, which they never received. In that case, no money has changed hands.

Is it early enough to declare Project V13 dead?

Buffy MMO and Firefly MMO Canned


You may know Multiverse from…well you probably don’t know about Multiverse. You may know about the game engine because of two specific IPs set to have MMOs on the platform: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly. Those looking forward to questing alongside Buffy or traveling the stars in the distant future will have to turn elsewhere. Multiverse has shut down production due to lack of funding, and has ceased operations as of December.

Although thousands of developers showed interest in the Multiverse Platform, Multiverse wasn’t able to achieve a profitable business model. As a result, Multiverse ceased operations in December 2011 due to lack of funding.

This isn’t the end of the Multiverse platform, however. According to the website, a group of people are working to start a nonprofit foundation to take over the platform and to support developers who still wish to use the engine.

(Source: Multiverse Website)

The Agency Canned Amidst Sony Layoffs


SOE is discontinuing production of The Agency so it can focus development resources on delivering two new MMOs based on its renowned PlanetSide and EverQuest properties, while also maintaining its current portfolio of online games. All possible steps are being taken to ensure team members affected by the transition are treated with appropriate concern.

With the announcement that Sony Online Entertainment had performed layoffs and shutting down studios (Denver, Seattle, Tuscon), a lot of the eyes on the news websites turned at The Agency, Sony’s upcoming yet secretive MMO. So, although disappointing, it isn’t all too surprising that the game is the first on the chopping block among the cost cutting at SOE.

Granted, the news is not all bad. In reaction, John Smedley has posted to Planetside Universe that the Planetside Next team has actually expanded, and a post on the Everquest forums has reaffirmed players that the game is not going anywhere.

Once again our best wishes go out to the 205 employees who are now on unemployment. Hopefully you’ll all have just as easy of a time finding a new job as the Realtime Worlds guys did last year.