In the online game Skylords Reborn, some players accuse the developers of only producing “vaporware” and not actually working on the Battleforge successor. What’s going on?
Battleforge 2009-2013: The online game Battleforge was ahead of its time. Battleforge was released in March 2009. It combined real-time strategy with collectible cards. Players could assemble a deck of creatures, buildings, and spells and fight in real time.
Update from October 24: Skylords Reborn is now in an open stress test. To participate, you just need to create an account in the Skylords forum and download the game files.
However, the game apparently was not profitable for the publisher Electronic Arts, which is why Battleforge was discontinued after about four and a half years. It ended in October 2013.
A small group of fans wanted the game back, so they took it upon themselves to write the server code to bring the game back under the name Skylords Reborn.
Critics say: “The game will never be released”
Closed doors: The small development team has been working on the project for 3 years now. They have invited beta testers, who occasionally show video material from the closed beta. However, most fans currently cannot get a look at the game.
To support the developers, players can donate a certain amount via Patreon. The developers receive about €1500 per month.
Players criticize: Some players accuse the team of simply pocketing the €1500 and not working on the project anymore. The team has run away with the money, after all, the game is still not finished even after 3 years of development.
Developers say: “It’s much more complicated”
Complicated undertaking. The developers are working on the Skylords Reborn project in their spare time and publish a detailed report on the project’s progress via their dev platform every week. Because they have to fully reverse-engineer the server code themselves, the work on Skylords Reborn is taking longer. They cannot set real deadlines, as they are working with code that they did not write themselves.
The game is making great progress, according to the developers. There have already been stress tests to explore the load capacities of the servers. Every stress test is a step towards open beta. They have neither run away with the money nor stopped working on the game. Skylords Reborn will be released. However, the team cannot yet specify an exact date.
“We don’t want to make money”: The developers want and are not allowed to make money with the Skylords Reborn project. This is one of the conditions that Electronic Arts imposed on them so that they can operate the game legally.
Donations are voluntary, and players who donate do not receive advantages in Skylords Reborn. They cannot buy their way into the closed beta. Through the Patreon rewards, players only get the opportunity to interact directly with the developers.
Players have been waiting for Battleforge for 3 years
Long-term project. Three years ago, the Skylords Reborn team announced that they wanted to bring the game back in its original version.
In early 2017, the development team received permission from Electronic Arts to operate Battleforge under the name Skylords Reborn, on the condition that they would not make money with the game. What started as a fan project became a legal revival project.
Almost a year later, for early 2018, the development team announced an open beta for all players. The game itself was supposed to be released in summer 2018. However, there were delays, and a few days after the announced launch of the open beta, it was postponed indefinitely.
Some fans are impatient. Battleforge fans have been waiting a long time for the re-release of the game. Many players are hoping for news about the game, supporting the developers, or responding to questions from curious new players. Already 21,000 players have created a forum account, which is needed to play Skylords Reborn when the open beta starts. These players want to play as soon as possible, but also show understanding for the developers’ situation.
However, there are also players who have been waiting for a long time and no longer want to wait. They were looking forward to the open beta at the beginning of the year and have been told to wait for an uncertain later date. Their only option seems to be to wait and continue to observe the progress of the game.
Developers promise something big: Although the developers have not announced a date for the start of the open beta, the team wants to announce a major development milestone soon. The content of the milestone is still unknown.
