The indie MMORPG “Chronicles of Elyria” was a great hope for some MMORPG fans in 2016: For some, it was a sort of “Star Citizen” of fantasy MMORPGs. Supporters invested over $9 million in the project. But the golden days are long gone. The founder of the game is back to being a lone fighter in 2023, having had to let go of the last employee.
What a strange situation is this?
- Chronicles of Elyria was the vision of one man: Jeromy Walsh. He launched the project in 2016, selling his possessions for it. Through crowdfunding, $1.3 million came in, and later he was able to raise over $7.7 million through his game’s website.
- Walsh devised the fantastic vision of an MMORPG where heroes could age and die, promising supporters an unparalleled experience: essentially a fully simulated, highly complex fantasy world.
- With the fans’ money, Walsh gradually built up a studio. However, his actual plan apparently looked different: He wanted to develop a prototype with the fans’ money that was good enough to convince an established publisher to invest much more money into the studio and make his dream come true.
What went wrong? Walsh could not find a publisher who believed enough in him and his project to finance the mammoth MMORPG.
On March 20, 2020, a pre-alpha of the game was released, which shocked many fans: It had nothing to do with the described vision of a great MMORPG. In hindsight, the pre-alpha was probably a last desperate attempt to convince anyone of the project.
However, on March 24, 2020, the developer announced the closure of the studio.
When the fans complained, the CEO continued without resources
It continued absurdly after the end: After the announcement to close the game, people reacted angrily, those who had invested money in the MMORPG. They felt cheated and announced a lawsuit.
Since then, Walsh has apparently been struggling to somehow evade this lawsuit. He now seemingly wants to forcefully “finish the MMORPG somehow,” so he can get out of it.
Although he has no money, no employees, and no resources left, and the lawsuits are looming over him, he is persistently pushing on.
This is now the situation: In a blog post from January 12, 2023, Walsh announced:
- In the 4th quarter of 2022, he had to let go of his last full-time designer, Snipehunter. He had become a good friend over the years – but Walsh could no longer afford his salary due to the lawsuits.
- The studio behind the MMORPG is now once again a “One-Man” studio.
- However, in 2023 he is starting with new energy and promises to release “Kindgoms of Elyria: Settlement” by the end of 2023.
Many people are angry at the MMORPG project – See it as a fraud
What is the reaction? On the site mmorpg.com, which reports on this case, one can only shake their head. For people in the comments, the dream of “Chronicles of Elyria” has been dead for at least 3 years. That the man is still working on it is felt by many as a farce. They see themselves disappointed, deceived, and robbed of their money.
The vision that was once promised to them, and in which they had invested, seemed so far removed from reality to many that they speak of a fraud.
One user says: “This man will continue with his fraud for his whole life until he dies.”
For a long time, it seemed like the MMORPG “Camelot Unchained” would face a fate similar to that of Chronicles of Elyria, but they apparently have managed to pull off the turnaround that went terribly wrong for Chronicles of Elyria in 2020:
Legendary MMORPG designer cheers with new game: “I hit another homerun”
