The MMORPG ArcheAge will close in June 2024. But it has already failed years ago. And that could give us a new MMORPG that wants to be like ArcheAge, but without the mistakes: Ashes of Creation.
This is the situation:
- The South Korean MMORPG ArcheAge launched in September 2014 in the West and was a dream come true for many MMORPG players.
- The new MMORPG was very different from WoW and focused on sandbox elements: Players could trade, fight, become pirates and lords, and express themselves freely.
- One of ArcheAge’s biggest fans was entrepreneur Steven Sharif.
MMORPG fan becomes millionaire and is disappointed with ArcheAge
Who is Steven Sharif? Steven Sharif is a wealthy man. At 18, he came into money after joining a “multilevel marketing” company and selling nutritional products and fruit juices. Today he understands that such companies are viewed critically because they operate on a pyramid scheme (via massivelyop).
At 24, Sharif started to invest and made his fortune in real estate.
Sharif is also a huge MMORPG fan. He found his new passion in ArcheAge in 2014. He was active in ArcheAge with a large guild, but was also considered a “whale” who invested a lot of money into the game.
However, after a few months in the West, ArcheAge significantly shifted towards a “Pay2Win” model, which drove many players away from the game, including the disappointed Steven Sharif.
An ArcheAge without greed would be a dream for many MMORPG fans
This was his reaction: Disappointed with ArcheAge, Steven Sharif decided to announce his own MMORPG, Ashes of Creation, in December 2016.
Here he wants to incorporate many ideas from ArcheAge and calls ArcheAge a great inspiration for Ashes of Creation, but there is one thing he wants to do differently: he is determined to avoid Pay2Win.
Because he sees that as the major mistake that brought ArcheAge down.
Over the past 8 years, Sharif has repeatedly criticized the monetization of ArcheAge. In fact, his disappointment with ArcheAge and the general development of the MMORPG genre seems to be a major driving force for him.
A reaction video from Asmongold on the end of ArcheAge reached nearly 290 views on YouTube:
This is now the discussion: With the closure of the western servers of ArcheAge on June 27, 2024, which has now been announced, many express their regret that ArcheAge could not follow up on the successful launch of 2014. Many see the great potential in the game, which has not been utilized due to “greed”.
Can Sharif fulfill his dream? That still seems completely uncertain at the moment. For many, Ashes of Creation is a significant hope for a new good MMORPG in the West. However, even after 8 years of development, the game is still a long way from release, and beta tests are repeatedly subject to a non-disclosure agreement:
