The MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar (SotA) has had a very chaotic development. Now the studio has closed, but work continues nonetheless.
The development of the MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar has been quite chaotic so far. From a disastrous launch to a transition to Free2Play and other incidents, the online game has gone from one difficult situation to another.
What happened at Portalarium? Recently, it became suddenly known that the technical director Chris Spears is the new CEO of the company. He himself stated that he was completely unaware of this. However, despite steadily declining player numbers, new updates for the game are still released every month.
This chaotic development continues now. Because in the meantime, there is no longer a studio behind the online game.
Portalarium’s CEO Chris Spears announced that the company has been dissolved. He founded a new company with Catnip Games and took over the MMORPG with all assets. Development is said to continue as before, with the same team, just under a new company name.
Why is the CEO founding a new company? The community wonders why Spears didn’t just continue with Portalarium. There is no official explanation for this. It is suspected that it has to do with the company form and liability.
Furthermore, several years ago, many investors contributed money to Portalarium. However, the necessary disclosures regarding this seed investment campaign have long been outstanding. The startup company Seed Invest itself is now surprised by the situation. The founding of the new studio may also be related to this investment campaign. However, Chris Spears stated in a livestream that investors need not worry.
Chaotic development from the beginning
How has the development of the MMORPG been so far? Shroud of the Avatar was successfully funded through a Kickstarter campaign in 2013. But not long after that, the first issues arose.
Because the game was announced as a story-driven single-player game that could also be played online with friends. However, the title evolved into a classic MMORPG, which upset many Kickstarter backers.
The release on March 27, 2018, was unremarkable, the reviews were average to poor. Player numbers continued to decline. The transition to a Free2Play model did not help. Eventually, employees had to be laid off, and the European publisher Travian Games pulled out. Richard “Lord British” Garriott, creator of the Ultima series and the creative mind behind SotA, resigned as CEO. The development studio Portalarium eventually even had to give up its office space and the small team continued to work from home.
What is going on with Richard Garriott? Garriott thanks the community for their support and assures that he and his colleague Starr Long will remain part of the game and its community.
However, Chris Spears explained in the official forum that both are no longer on the payroll of the new studio.
The MMORPG is holding on
What is the status of Shroud of the Avatar? According to Steamcharts, Shroud of the Avatar had around 89 concurrent players in the last 30 days. CEO Chris Spears once mentioned that about a third or a quarter of all players are on Steam; the others use the actual launcher. If a quarter, then the population of SotA would be around 360 players acting simultaneously.
In the forum, however, it is often said that especially hardcore fans own many alts, meaning additional accounts. Therefore, it is hard to say how many actual players the MMORPG has.
Furthermore, the ratings of the title on Steam fluctuate between “Mixed” and “Mostly Negative.” The reason is still many bugs, which can sometimes prevent quests from being completed, and technical problems. The performance, for example, is frequently criticized.
What do players think about the current situation? Critics feel confirmed and say that this is yet another nail in the coffin of SotA.
However, the MMORPG still has a small but loyal fanbase, who appreciate the end of Portalarium and the continued development of SotA through Catnip Games. Moreover, they support Chris Spears and are willing to spend a lot of money in the in-game shop to finance further development.
