Tag: Faxion

Faxion: He’s Dead, Jim.


If Faxion left us any wiser, the MMO has parted us with yet another harsh reminder that the free to play market is not the safe haven that it was once thought to be. For every triple-A game that loses its subscription tag, from Lord of the Rings Online to DC Universe, City of Heroes and Everquest II, the competition only increases, while at the same time key titles releasing in various states of unfinished has taken its toll on public tolerance. Of course there is also a lesson to be had in the developer putting faith in the game despite a low launch, and not laying off the entire staff. UTV Ignition did not pay heed to that lesson.

Either way, another chapter in the long line of MMOs has ended, and the Faxion servers have shut down for good (or at least until someone buys the game and re-launches it).

Faxion: He's Dead, Jim.


If Faxion left us any wiser, the MMO has parted us with yet another harsh reminder that the free to play market is not the safe haven that it was once thought to be. For every triple-A game that loses its subscription tag, from Lord of the Rings Online to DC Universe, City of Heroes and Everquest II, the competition only increases, while at the same time key titles releasing in various states of unfinished has taken its toll on public tolerance. Of course there is also a lesson to be had in the developer putting faith in the game despite a low launch, and not laying off the entire staff. UTV Ignition did not pay heed to that lesson.

Either way, another chapter in the long line of MMOs has ended, and the Faxion servers have shut down for good (or at least until someone buys the game and re-launches it).

Faxion Online To Shut Down


My favorite questions are those that answer themselves. For instance, when the entire Faxion Online team was laid off, the question turned to how long the servers would remain standing before UTV finally announced the shut down. The answer: Today. Faxion Online players were greeted today with a somber note:

It’s with an extremely heavy heart that I write to inform you of the upcoming discontinuation of Faxion live services. This week, we will begin the process of ending live service, starting with the immediate discontinuation of store purchases, online registration, and client downloads, with final server closure scheduled to commence within the next 30 days.

Faxion is the heaven vs hell MMO that launched earlier this year in May, to a substantially low reception. Although the game was praised for its concept, it was widely panned as being unfinished and buggy. The game was described as essentially launching in a beta state, with the beta phase being an alpha. Unlike a few other MMOs that managed to launch in the beta stage and still move on to survive a few years out, Faxion didn’t gain the trust of its financier, UTV, laid off everyone at the company.

If Faxion is a lesson to MMO companies, that lesson is about launching an unfinished product in a market saturated with competition. The era where an indie developer can thrive because the game is free to play is over, with Lord of the Rings Online, Everquest II, and a growing list offering AAA experiences for next to nothing.

Who knows, perhaps K2 Networks will buy Faxion and relaunch it.

You Need A Better Source Than A Guy Who Knows A Guy


I simultaneously love and hate Massively. On one hand, they have a habit of being right when they offer credence to a layoff rumor, no matter how obscure the source. On the other hand, it’s still a rumor, and I don’t humor rumors unless they have a solid backing. Over at the Faxion Online forums, a couple of players are channeling ex-staffers laying claim that the entire Faxion development team has been laid off.

The question that remains is quite simply: What happens to Faxion next? Does UTV simply ride the game out until it is no longer making money? Will they sell it to another company? Will a new team be hired? Am I looking far too deep into this?

Then again, it might just be my 1:30am cynicism settling in.