Currently, the Kickstarter MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria is in turmoil. After the game’s cancellation was announced, players began to sue the developer. However, he now claims that Chronicles of Elyria is not dead.
What happened? On March 25, the CEO of Soulbound Studios, the company behind Chronicles of Elyria, announced that all employees have been laid off. This is due to the fact that no publisher could be found for the ambitious MMORPG and the company has now run out of money.
While “something playable” was supposed to emerge from the data of Elyria through voluntary work, the text actually made it clear that the originally planned MMORPG will not be implemented.
Many players were disappointed and wanted their money back. Together they want to file a class-action lawsuit against Soulbound Studios.
However, the company now claims that Chronicles of Elyria is still in development. Players on reddit speculate that Soulbound Studios is just trying to evade the lawsuit.
Development of Chronicles of Elyria continues under the CEO
What does Soulbound say? In a FAQ on the website, CEO Jeromy “Caspian” Walsh addresses the current situation of Chronicles of Elyria. When asked if players will get their money back, he replied:
Our intention was and is to deliver Chronicles of Elyria.
Although we have overcome many challenges and made mistakes in the development of this unique game, our efforts continue.
All funds we raised for development, including a significant portion of the founder’s personal money, were spent by Soulbound in good faith for the game […].
In a further question, it was about what happened to the backers’ money for special promotions like the $95 Advent calendar with in-game items.
Walsh replied:
100% of the funds we raised through Kickstarter, our stretch goals, and direct payments went directly into the development of the game. Developing games, especially games of this scale, is a costly endeavor […].
No one bought a Ferrari. No one took a world trip with your money. All salaries were within the norm for a company of our size in our industry and region […].
Our costs can be broken down into salary and wage costs for about 20 people, numerous contractors, health insurance, operating expenses […], software licenses and related royalties, legal costs, accounting, training, and marketing.
Our operating costs averaged nearly $2 million per year over four years, and every penny can be accounted for.
In total, the MMORPG has raised around $8 million through crowdfunding since 2016. According to the calculations above, this might have actually led to the company running out of money in 2020.
How will Elyria be further developed? The development of Chronicles of Elyria is currently being continued solely by CEO Walsh. This was stated by the CEO in the FAQ.
He is joined by 6 former employees who volunteer in their spare time to assist with development. However, this is not expected to last long, as Walsh is currently looking for a financial solution.
How this solution will look is still unclear to him.
Players suspect a stalling tactic
How are players reacting? In the subreddit for Chronicles of Elyria, some users suspect that behind the FAQ and the development by one person lies a stalling tactic to avoid a lawsuit.
As user Shathiell writes:
- “This is the biggest “Please don’t sue me” response I’ve ever read. What nonsense. […]. The statement that they [the game] still want to deliver is at best misleading, at worst fraudulent. I mean, if they couldn’t deliver with the team they had before, what can they deliver now?”
Other users also find the response “ridiculous” (via Geoffrey994) or describe it as “a joke” (via Alfgart).
However, there are also a few voices that at least hope the CEO’s statements could be true and that Chronicles of Elyria might still be released.
What happens next with the lawsuit? Currently, there has been no statement from the organizers of the lawsuit regarding the new FAQ. This was only published last night. As soon as there is a statement, we will add it to the article.
Lawsuits against gaming companies can indeed have a chance, as shown by former fans of ArcheAge. They went to court in 2015 and reached a settlement of $420,000 in 2020.
