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Working As Intended: The MMOs we lost in 2014
Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about how Vanguard's early stumbles foreshadowed the changing MMORPG industry. In January 2007, when Vanguard lurched its way to launch, the genre was barely a decade old; it was booming, and it had never suffered hardship on a massive scale. In the west, we'd seen only three "major" MMOs sunset (Motor City Online, Earth and Beyond, and Asheron's Call 2), and only one MMO, Anarchy Online, had "gone F2P," though we hadn't yet thought to call it yet because it was such a rare and new thing. In fact, it wasn't until 2008's first big wave of AAA, post-World of Warcraft MMOs launched and mostly flopped that MMORPG players gave much thought to the future of the genre and how WoW had reshaped (and possibly broken) it. Maybe not even then. Here in 2015, sunsets are commonplace, and the vast majority of modern MMOs have adopted some sort of subscriptionless model. Last year, we lost more than a dozen MMOs, including Vanguard itself, all of them wiped from the face of the earth (at least until someone decides to resurrect them), and several more under development were canceled, leading to concern among industry watchers like those of us who pen for Massively. Let's try to get some perspective and revisit the MMOs we lost in 2014.
Legend of Silkroad shuts down today
On this final day of 2014, the year apparently cannot resist dragging one last body into the abyss. Legend of Silkroad's operation is ceasing as of today, following an announcement made back on December 24th. The forums and website will also be closed, so if you made friends on the boards, they've already given you alternative contact information. The shutdown announcement cites difficulties on the developer's end, thought whether it means that the studio behind the game shut down altogether or there's simply a lack of communication is unclear. Our condolences to fans of the game affected by the shutdown; hopefully you made some good memories in the game. At least it'll be difficult for any other games to shut down in 2014.
Legend of Silkroad begins open beta warfare
The historical fantasy MMO Legend of Silkroad began its open beta today, inviting any and all in who wish to sample its digital wares. Legend of Silkroad is a tri-faction MMO that focuses on the economic and military conflict between three old world nations. It has a robust PvP system that encourages murder most foul in order to control the titular silk road. Or as the official site puts it, "Persia, Rome and China.. Who is the One of the all continents?" Who indeed, readers. Who indeed. You can check out a trailer for Legend of Silkroad after the jump!
