Bless Unleashed
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Round 8 Studios | Platform: PC | Release Date: August 6, 2021 | Model: Free2Play
What kind of game is this? Bless Unleashed is a theme park MMORPG, but with typical elements from Korea. It features an action combat system, equipment that needs to be upgraded with various materials, and open PvP in the endgame.
The game is the spiritual successor to Bless Online but does several things differently. Among other things, it launched directly as a free-to-play game, has a completely different entry point, and simplifies things a bit. The popular collection system from Bless is completely absent.
In the first impression, Bless Unleashed performed well. Especially the boss fights in the starting areas were convincing. However, interest in the player base decreased significantly in the endgame. Nevertheless, it launched with over 75,000 concurrent players on Steam.
How is Bless Unleashed doing currently? On Steam, the MMORPG currently only reaches around 750 peak concurrent players. That’s just 1 % of the launch numbers. Furthermore, the game struggled on consoles, prompting Bandai Namco not to renew the publishing contract and to shut down the servers.
However, Bless Unleashed is receiving regular maintenance, new events, and bug fixes. An event for new players was also launched in November. However, the last major content update was a while ago.
That’s why I believe Bless will die: The IP Bless doesn’t seem to have long lifespans. Bless Online died after just 15 months, and Bless Unleashed on consoles managed to last just under two years.
Bless Unleashed was sold to a new company at the end of 2021. While they seem interested in making money, they don’t seem to be committed to developing significantly new content. This won’t work in the long run. Thus, I consider a shutdown in 2023 – at the latest 2024 – to be very likely.
Who else are candidates for a shutdown?
Legends of Aria is another perfect candidate for a shutdown. It was already one of the games I believed would die in 2021. However, the game was sold to an NFT company at the end of 2021. They will have a vested interest in keeping the IP alive, if only to sell some NFTs with the game and make money. A shutdown is still possible at any time.
Also on the list of potential shutdowns are Infestation: Battle Royale and Rebirth Online, which I already had on the list last year and whose status is not good.
