After eleven years.
Tag: Shut down
Not Massive: Vlambeer Shuts Down After Ten Years
Get their library of games on sale.
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En Masse Entertainment Going Out Of Business
Champions of Titan Is Shutting Down A Second Time
Chronicles of Elyria Is Dead, Everyone Laid Off
Refusing to sell out to publishers.
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Frostkeep To Sunset Rend This Month
Rend is dead, as Frostkeep announced today. A post on the official website confirms that the servers for the survival game will go offline permanently as of January 31.
“We’re sad to announce that on 1/31/2020 we will sunset Rend. This was a difficult decision for our team and was not something we approached lightly or without serious thought and consideration. As a small indie studio, we set out with determination and a bold vision to create a competitive survival game that would challenge the traditional mold and introduce new experiences and ways for players and friends to participate within the game regardless of play style. But ultimately, the game’s population levels have decreased and reached a level where the original experience we hoped for and envisioned for Rend is no longer a possibility. We will formally shut down all public servers on Friday 1/31. While today’s news is a disappointment, we’re sincerely grateful to our players, partners and the community for your commitment and support. Thank you for joining us on the battlefield.”
Frostkeep Studios suffered layoffs earlier this month that seem at least somewhat related to the shut down. Also likely related is the dismal performance of the title, as traffic for Rend on Steam had dropped into the single digits of average players since October 2019. Frostkeep has promised not to interfere with private servers.
Source: MassivelyOP
Guardians of Ember Is Shutting Down Again
Guardians of Ember is the game that just would not survive. Guardians of Ember, who MMO Fallout readers might remember when original publisher Insel Games was booted off of Steam, is shutting down once again. The last time around Insel Games managed to get Guardians of Ember removed from Steam by manipulating reviews. This time it appears to be good old difference of opinion.
Gameforge took over publication back in January 23, 2019 and it looks like after a year’s probationary period Runewaker is no longer interested in working with them.
So what led to Gameforge losing the rights to Guardians of Ember? Only Gameforge and Runewaker know for sure, but we’re willing to bet it has to do with the gross mismanagement of the relaunch with Gameforge failing to secure replacement on Steam even one year later.
Is this the end for Guardians of Ember? There is always hope of Runewaker finding a new publisher or self-publishing. Tomorrow is another day.
Source: Twitter
Astellia Blames Korean Shutdown On Nexon Restructuring
Astellia is shutting down in Korea (the Southern one) under publisher Nexon, and the news understandably has western player spooked and concerned for the game’s future in other territories. Getting ahead of the curve, the Astellia team posted an announcement last Thursday confirming that the shutdown is not so much due to the game’s failure in Korea, but due to the publisher undergoing restructuring in the region. That publisher being Nexon.
“The publisher for this region is undergoing a process of restructuring. As a result of this, the Korean service will no longer be operated by them and will be coming to a close early next year. We’d like to take a moment to reassure our community, that the publisher for Korean region and the North American / European regions are independent, and will continue to service Astellia without interruption.”
Astellia is published in the west by Barunson Entertainment & Arts. The announcement goes on to note that Korean players may be brought into the western version of the game, filling out the server population sheets.
“Currently, we are considering inviting displaced players from the Korean service to find a new home alongside us in the West. Bringing them aboard would provide players with access to a wealth of Astellia knowledge, increase overall player activity on servers, reduce dungeon queue times, and strengthen the level of competition within Avalon. We understand the significance of this decision, and in lieu of this, we encourage you to share your opinions and ideas with us below.”
The statement can be found at the link below.
Source: Astellia
Surprise! Planetside Arena Has Been Cancelled
In a business decision that even Michael Pachter could have correctly predicted, Daybreak Game Company has announced that Planetside Arena will go to the big recycling bin in the sky. It’s the same recycling bin that Everquest Next resides in.
Planetside Arena is a battle royale spinoff of the similarly titled Planetside 2, and launched this year to what can be described as more-than-unanimously negative reception. In addition to rather low review scores, Planetside Arena almost immediately suffered from a radical drop in player count; down into the single digits just a few months after coming out. For a game that relies on 12-man squads, it was literally unplayable.
The Planetside Arena servers will be playable until January 10, 2020 for the three people who still log in to check their cosmetics. Those who invested any real money in the game will see their purchases refunded by Steam after the game shuts down.
The full announcement has been posted below for your pleasure. Post and FAQ available on the official website.
Hello Everyone,
After careful consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to shut down PlanetSide Arena servers.
While our team set out with an ambitious vision for a game that combined the massive-scale combat and camaraderie of PlanetSide through a diverse collection of new game modes, it has become clear after several months in Early Access that our population levels make it impossible to sustain the gameplay experience we envisioned.
As a result, PlanetSide Arena will formally shut down servers on January 10th, 2020 at 5:00 PM (PST). We are actively working with Steam to ensure that all players who made purchases during Early Access will automatically receive a full refund to their Steam Wallet after servers shut down in January.
Thank you again for your loyalty and support during Beta and Early Access. Your feedback was invaluable, and your enduring passion for PlanetSide remains the bedrock our community is built upon. As painful as it is to close this chapter so quickly, we remain deeply committed to this franchise, and look forward to continuing this journey through the PlanetSide Universe with all of you.
Andy Sites
Executive Producer, PlanetSide Franchise
Astellia Online Already Shutting Down In Korea
Astellia Online is shutting down in its native home of Korea. The southern one.
Nexon has announced the sunset of Astellia Online in Korea with servers set to shut down on Thursday January 16, 2020. The website is a little tough to read given Google’s automatic translation tools but it looks like limited refunds will be available to customers going back sometime through this year. Astellia Online launched about a year ago in Korea and was published by Nexon. The western launch was self-published by the game’s developer Barunson.
The news has the western Astellia audience concerned about an impending sunset in our territory, as player estimates show that the western population isn’t doing so well either. People have also raised questions about the impending Russian launch as pre-order packages have gone on sale.
Source: Astellia
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