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Black Prophecy says goodbye today with parties
At the end of last month, Reakktor Media announced that the free-to-play space MMO Black Prophecy would be closing down for good on September 26th. Today, the studio posted a message on its Facebook page reminding players of the goodbye parties and inviting them to join with devs during the game's final hours to send it off into the sunset. The parties will be held tonight, first on the two EU servers Shinava and Kemmura at 3:00 p.m. EDT (9:00 p.m. PM CEST), and then on the US server Altair at 9:00 p.m. EDT. The servers are scheduled to shut down permanently in the morning.
Black Prophecy closing down on September 26th
Apparently Black Prophecy was in the red, as Reakktor Media has posted a closure notice on the free-to-play sci-fi title's official website. Today marks the last day that players will able to purchase in-game currency, and Black Prophecy will close its doors for good on September 26th. If you've purchased KK$ any time in the past six months, gamigo will be sending you an email credit voucher that may be applied to other titles in its portfolio. The closure post also mentions upcoming send-off events, and we'll keep you informed on those as we learn more. [Thanks to Wesley for the tip.]
Bounty Bay Online shutting down
After five years of operation, it's time for the good ship of Bounty Bay Online to pull into port and never set sail again. The game has announced that it will be shutting down in the near future, with the servers currently scheduled to go dark on September 20th. No specific reasons have been given for the shutdown, although the announcement does make note that the years of operation (and several management changes) took their toll on the game. Client downloads are already disabled; the community team is planning events for players sticking with the game during its last weeks of operation. Players who purchased items from the game's cash shop recently will also be compensated accordingly, although exact details have not yet been announced. It's a sad day for anyone in love with the game or simply fond of a broad MMO landscape, and we can only hope that the development team moves on to bigger and brighter projects.
Phantasy Star Universe will blink out for good in September
For six years, fans have been able to play the sci-fi MMO Phantasy Star Universe. Though the game lost some platforms just over two years ago when the PS2 and PC versions were shut down, the XBox 360 version remained intact. Thus, PSU quietly lived on as a console MMO where players could complete missions on worlds like Parum and Neudaiz, craft items, or decorate their private living space. Now, SEGA has announced that this last living remnant of the online game will take its last breath on September 7th, 2012. The single player version, however, will still be available. SEGA noted that the decision to close the game was not an easy one, but that the company was preparing to "provide [players] with new opportunities and new experiences." The company thanked all of the players who have supported the game over the years and assured that any who have an active Guardians license following the final date will have their pro-rated subscription refunded. GM Edward also revealed that a number of server-wide bonuses have been added and that plans were in the works for some celebratory events so that the Universe could go out with a bang. [Thanks to BGO for the tip!]
gPotato closing Prius Online, compensating players through April 10th
We regret to inform you of the impending death of Prius Online, a free-to-play fantasy title that featured a unique pet system comprised of anima and giga companions. We first got wind of the title at last year's Game Developer Conference, and we covered its launch in the summer of 2011. In the interim, gPotato has decided to terminate the project and has posted a terse announcement on the game's official website with all the details. March 27th will be the final day of service, and all cash shop items have been reduced to 1% of their original price for the last two weeks. gPotato is also compensating players via credit in its other games; you'll want to head to the compensation page to take full advantage of that offer by April 10th. [Thanks to Dweeblok for the tip!]
NCsoft KOs Punch Monster in Korea
If you've never heard of NCsoft's Punch Monster, you're not alone. Apparently the few people who have heard of it didn't want to play it, as the Korean gaming giant is closing down the casual MMO as of February 15th. ThisIsGame says that it's been some time since NCsoft pushed a major update onto the game's live servers, and a company spokesperson confirmed as much. "We decided to close it because we have barely sustained the Korean service. We will continue to develop and publish casual games with [the] experience we have gained so far." Punch Monster will remain playable in China and Japan for the moment, albeit under the name Blue Tears.
Some Assembly Required: One last jump to lightspeed
Eulogizing Star Wars Galaxies is difficult. In fact, I've written some 2,200 articles since signing on with Massively a couple of years ago, and none of them has come close to being as painful as this particular wall o' text. The fact that I even used the word eulogy in reference to a video game says it all, really. Join me after the cut for as brief a remembrance as I can manage.
Kitsu Saga closing down
It's never a fun day when an MMO gives up the ghost, and unfortunately today marks just such an occasion for Kitsu Saga. Aeria Games is shutting down the game for good, and a somber announcement on the official website marks the beginning of the end. "This was a very difficult decision for us and has only been made after much deliberation. We'd like to thank those who played Kitsu Saga and especially those who stuck with it through the more difficult times," the news blurb states. Aeria also offers up a bit of info regarding AP Spender compensation, and the long and short of it is that refunds may take a while to process due to the large number pending (Aeria estimates seven to 10 business days after July 14th). Head to the official Kitsu Saga website for the details.
Codemasters denies picking up APB
If you were holding out hope that the defunct urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin would be resurrected courtesy of the folks at Codemasters, Eurogamer has a little bit of cold water to throw on your fire. David Solari, Codemasters Online general manager, minces no words in a recent interview. "We have not picked up APB, I can answer you definitively," he said. Rumors circulated that the publisher might be picking up the pieces of the shuttered MMO, left scattered by the closing of Realtime Worlds, when former RTW community manager Ben Bateman updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new job at Codemasters. Epic Games has also been rumored as a potential salvager, and Solari says that someone will inevitably pick up APB's assets, if only for the innovative tech. "If they don't pick up the game then they will pick up the technology for sure, because the avatar and character customisation technology is incredible. Something will definitely be done to preserve that," he muses.
Spellborn shutting down in September
It seems the bell has finally tolled for The Chronicles of Spellborn, the troubled free-to-play MMORPG from Playdom. The fantasy title, which boasted a unique combat system and attempted to alleviate the grind common to the massive genre through its mission system, will be shutting its doors for good in September. Spellborn has had a checkered history since its 2009 inception as a pay-to-play title. Shortly after release, its development team went bankrupt before it was slated for free-to-play distribution by Acclaim and Frogster. According to a report published on Games.com, last week's server outage (which sparked a brush-fire of cancellation rumors) was temporary, but the game will nonetheless be closing next month. "Yes we do plan to close the game at the end of the month," said a Playdom rep via email. "The servers were down on Monday, but that was due to an unrelated technical issue; the game should be back up now until the end of this month."
Cabal Online is shutting down in the West
OGPlanet, publisher for the free-to-play MMORPG Cabal Online, announced last week that the title will be closing down effective March 31, 2010. Cabal, developed by ESTsoft and originally released in Korea back in 2005, was localized and released for the North American market in early 2008, and featured combat-heavy gameplay and a dark storyline set in the world of Nevareth. OGPlanet offered up a somber press release on the game's web site. "We truly felt that a game like Cabal Online would offer something different and unique for our loyal OGPlanet members, and in many ways, we believe it has. While we had hoped to continue operating the game as part of our services, the game's developers, EST Soft, has unfortunately decided not to extend our contract for Cabal Online," the release states. OGPlanet goes on to say that item shop transactions were suspended on March 19, and that they "are doing everything we can to compensate our loyal customers." [Edit: There is an update to this story here.]
