SpatialOS promises gigantic worlds in MMOs, which can even be managed by small teams. But now, with Lazarus, the third online game that wanted to use this “wonder technology” is being shut down. Previously, the MMORPG World’s Adrift and the shooter Maverick: Proving Grounds had to face the same fate.
What is SpatialOS? It is a cloud technology from the company Improbable, which allows developers to create huge game worlds and manage them with minimal effort. Even expansions of the worlds should be easy to implement. The large landscape is distributed across multiple servers to enable more complex features.
This should enable even smaller indie studios to develop large MMORPGs.
The end of another SpatialOS MMO
Which game has now been shut down? The indie studio Spilt Milk was working on the MMO space shooter Lazarus, which aimed to enable fast action in a large, persistent world where thousands of players could battle each other. But now, that will not happen. The studio explains that work on the shooter will not continue.
Why is Lazarus being shut down? On Steam, there is a detailed explanation that boils down to one point: money.
Even with SpatialOS and the support of Improbable, operating the game would be so costly due to fees for software licenses, server costs, and the effort of constant updates that a dangerous financial situation would arise for the small studio.
In short, the team apparently overestimated itself with the huge shooter, and now lacks the funds for ongoing operation.
Is SpatialOS really that good for small studios?
What does this mean for SpatialOS? After the “Battle Royale for 1,000 players” Mavericks: Proving Grounds and the MMORPG Worlds Adrift, this is now the third MMO that uses the SpatialOS technology and is being shut down.
It now simply raises the question of whether it is really that good for small studios to use this technology. While it may simplify the development and management of huge game worlds, it presents a danger that Lazarus has highlighted:
The temptation for a small team to create a gigantic online world apparently makes developers forget that such a large game incurs further costs. The larger a game is, the more other elements and technologies that need to be utilized cost.
An indie team must be aware in advance that it is very expensive to develop and operate a large online game – even when using SpatialOS.
