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Dynasty Warriors Online shutting down in North America
Aeria Games is not having a good month, apparently. Shortly after the company announced the closure of Lime Odyssey in Korea, it broke the news to the Dynasty Warriors community that the North American servers will be shut down on January 10th, 2014. The company posted its reasons and condolences on the Dynasty Warrior forums: "We know and understand this is both sad and frustrating. The closure of a game is always hardest for us at Aeria as we recognize the community's dedication towards the game but regrettably games can't last forever." Aeria will be giving out 100% rebates to any AP purchased by players from now until the game's sunset. The company also promised that it's working on special events for the title's final days. [Thanks to Mehighlow for the tip!]
Archlord sunsetting on January 1st
Archlord will be no more, as Webzen has decided to sunset the title. The company announced the closure of the fantasy title on the official site: "Unfortunately, we have come to a difficult decision to end this long journey we have enjoyed and cherished together. We understand that this will disappoint many of our players. We will be disabling client downloads and cash shop for the game on the 11th of December. The game will be closed on January 1st." There is a silver lining to this, however. Webzen will be throwing a 400% XP and drop event from December 11th until Archlord's closure. In addition, the company urged the community to transfer interest to Archlord 2. [Thanks to Skurvel for the tip!]
Warhammer Online goes free for final weeks
After years of fans asking for it, Warhammer Online has finally gone free-to-play. Unfortunately, we had to wait until the end of the game's lifespan to see it happen. Mythic announced that the title would be completely free for those who would like to play before the title sunsets and that subscriptions have been disabled. "To give Warhammer Online a proper sendoff we are opening the game to anyone free of charge that has or had an account in good standing starting October 31st, 2013," the studio wrote. "So please join us and help say goodbye to Warhammer Online in one last big WAAAGH!" Mythic also said that it is adding power-up NPCs to super-charge characters and other "unique experiences" for returning and loyal players. WAR will close down on December 18th. You can read some of our recollections of the title's history. [Thanks to John for the tip!]
RaiderZ shutting down in Korea, NA version endures
RaiderZ just can't catch a break, it seems. Just a few weeks after the title was shuttered in Europe, Neowiz announced that it will be taking the game offline in South Korea next month. The Korean version will go dark on September 24th, and the publisher said that it will be reimbursing cash purchases through October. The North American version is still alive and kicking, however, and has released a state of the game post to rally players behind the title. Perfect World said that it's preparing new monsters, zones, dungeons, and loot for the near future. The company also took the opportunity to promote its in-game events, such as GM-run hide-and-seek games.
Death knell sounds for RaiderZ EU
In a move that apparently doesn't surprise some players, RaiderZ Europe is shutting down for good. Gameforge announced the closure today and posted a brief FAQ covering the the when, why, and what's next for players. The game is being shuttered because, "The success of RaiderZ did not meet our expectations and as we saw no other potential alternatives to the discontinuation of the services, unfortunately we were left with no other alternative than to take this step." In response to the announcement, players noted a lack of updates and content surely had some bearing on the lack of interest in the game. The servers will remain open until August 30th, at which time any players who wish to continue to play the game will have to move to a different publisher (i.e. Perfect World) and start from scratch. [Thanks to Skurvel for the tip]
Pitchblack Games' Dominus abruptly shutting down
We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. Sanya Weathers, Director of Community for Pitchblack Games' in-development sandbox title, Dominus, posted on the forums today to inform players that, effective immediately, Dominus is no more. Weathers states that the team "simply cannot deliver the game [players] deserve with the resources [the studio has]." She goes on to apologize vehemently, adding that the forum is now read-only, though the game's Facebook page will remain open long enough for players to say their last goodbyes. Sanya signs off by thanking the players for proving that "there is a market for a game like [Dominus]." She concludes, "I will miss you all, and I know we'll meet again." Here's to hoping. Best of luck to the folks over at Pitchblack; we look forward to your next endeavor.
Best Buy-bye: Retailer bids farewell to the UK with blowout sale
While Americans plow through their cash and cards, lapping up the litany of Black Friday specials -- and readying themselves for the inevitable Cyber Monday second wave -- it looks like our trans-Atlantic cousins will also get a taste of discount joy. After a brief 18-month stint, Best Buy UK is packing its bags, and it wants to travel light. Both the online and physical stores will see prices snipped by between 10 and 30 percent, though we don't know whether this will extend to Best Buy's full product line or simply less desirable devices. Either way, the brick-and-mortar stores have been closed over the weekend in preparation. Bargain-hunting Brits should be able to grab some some cut-price Christmas treats when the eleven stores reopen on Monday. [Thanks Jason and Thomas]
LEGO Universe shutting down January 2012
Playtime's over, people -- time to pack up your LEGO bricks and move on. The word's come down from the LEGO Group that LEGO Universe is closing its doors on January 31st, 2012 due to a lack of paying customers. While the game has been free-to-play for a while, apparently not enough players were interested in dishing out cash to keep the MMO operational. The news was posted just moments ago on the official forums along with a more in-depth FAQ: Hello Adventurer, today we are very sad to announce that LEGO Universe will be closing on January 31, 2012. This was a very difficult decision to make, but unfortunately LEGO Universe has not been able to attract the number of members needed to keep the game open. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to share this adventure wiith an amazing community of players. We hope you will continue to enjoy LEGO Universe for the last few months. As a thank you, if you are a paying subscriber on December 31, 2011, we will provide you the full game for the final month for free. Again, we want to thank the fantastic community of players who made LEGO Universe such a vibrant, fun and creative experience. Sincerely, The LEGO Universe Team Unfortunately, this closure means that the associated studios, including one in Colorado and one in Denmark, will be shuttered and 115 employees will be affected. LEGO Universe launched in October 2010 and converted to a free-to-play model this past August. We've included the official press release behind the break.
