In July 2021, the MMORPG Swords of Legends Online was released on Steam and in the Gameforge client. Initially, it was quite successful, but player numbers dropped quickly. The developers switched to Free2Play and even released an expansion. However, the shutdown has now been announced for the end of June.
What kind of game is this? Swords of Legends is an Asian MMORPG that places a high value on a traditional Chinese story. You experience a classic battle of “Good versus Evil”.
- When creating your character, you have the choice of now 9 different classes
- You level the class through a linear story while exploring various areas
- In the endgame, there are dungeons and raids in three difficulty levels, housing, various life skills, and PvP in arenas, battlegrounds, or endgame areas
- The equipment system was always fair, and nothing could break during upgrades
I personally played Swords of Legends for 80 hours in the beta and was very satisfied with the game. However, there was no major breakthrough.
Just a month after release, player numbers on Steam plummeted rapidly. Meanwhile, despite the switch from Buy2Play to Free2Play, only 156 players log in at peak times on Steam.
Too few, says the publisher Gameforge. On June 30, 2023, the servers will be shut down. This marks exactly one year since the shutdown of TERA. This MMORPG was also published by Gameforge in the West.
A successful start, but no consistent player numbers
What does Gameforge say about the shutdown? In an FAQ regarding the shutdown, the publisher spoke very openly about the biggest problem: player numbers. Although SOLO had a “successful launch” that was said to have exceeded expectations, the player numbers are now simply too low.
Swords of Legends Online was launched with the hope of providing our users with an exceptional
gaming experience, and we are pleased to say that it had a successful launch,
which exceeded expectations. Despite the initial joy and success, the required
number of players for sustainable operation of the game could not be maintained.
Swords of Legends Online is developed by Wangyuan Shengtant Entertainment. The Chinese version will continue to run, but the shutdown is only in the West. However, it is not possible to transfer accounts. On the one hand, the Chinese version is at a completely different state, and on the other hand, the transfer is not GDPR-compliant, says Gameforge.
With the shutdown, the forums will also be disabled. The purchase of real money currency is already no longer possible.
Why couldn’t the MMORPG retain players? Actually, SOLO had a lot of potential. A beautiful game world, action-packed fights, a lot of story, a major focus on dungeons, and an extremely fair shop. It avoided typical Asian elements like Pay2Win, equipment destruction, or endless grinding. But success did not follow.
A major problem was already the leveling phase. It was quite monotonous, very linear, and was only fun during the first playthrough. However, for twinks, the exact same quests had to be played in the exact same order. Those who had already played the beta were hardly motivated to level in the live version.
However, you had to reach the max level to unlock relevant content like dungeons, life skills, or housing. At launch, there were also localization errors and some performance issues.
In the endgame, too slow content was provided for hardcore players, while there was hardly any new blood coming into the MMORPG. Moreover, achievements in a game that hardly anyone actively plays meant almost nothing. Races for world firsts eventually ceased.
What SOLO did well and where the issues were from the perspective of hardcore players were discussed in more detail in a player interview:
Also in terms of marketing, Gameforge lag significantly behind the larger titles that were released a little later, such as New World in September or Lost Ark in February 2022, which came just before the first SOLO expansion in March. Both relied on large Twitch streamers and contests on social media.
What do you think about the death of Swords of Legends Online? Did you expect it or are you surprised by the shutdown? Will you miss the MMORPG or had you completely forgotten about it?
Personally, I am not surprised by the shutdown. I even predicted the death: I predict: These 6 MMOs will die in 2023.
With the shutdown, the forums will also be disabled. The purchase of real money currency is already no longer possible.
Why couldn’t the MMORPG retain players? Actually, SOLO had a lot of potential. A beautiful game world, action-packed fights, a lot of story, a major focus on dungeons, and an extremely fair shop. It avoided typical Asian elements like Pay2Win, equipment destruction, or endless grinding. But success did not follow.
A major problem was already the leveling phase. It was quite monotonous, very linear, and was only fun during the first playthrough. However, for twinks, the exact same quests had to be played in the exact same order. Those who had already played the beta were hardly motivated to level in the live version.
However, you had to reach the max level to unlock relevant content like dungeons, life skills, or housing. At launch, there were also localization errors and some performance issues.
In the endgame, too slow content was provided for hardcore players, while there was hardly any new blood coming into the MMORPG. Moreover, achievements in a game that hardly anyone actively plays meant almost nothing. Races for world firsts eventually ceased.
What SOLO did well and where the issues were from the perspective of hardcore players were discussed in more detail in a player interview:
Also in terms of marketing, Gameforge lag significantly behind the larger titles that were released a little later, such as New World in September or Lost Ark in February 2022, which came just before the first SOLO expansion in March. Both relied on large Twitch streamers and contests on social media.
What do you think about the death of Swords of Legends Online? Did you expect it or are you surprised by the shutdown? Will you miss the MMORPG or had you completely forgotten about it?
Personally, I am not surprised by the shutdown. I even predicted the death: I predict: These 6 MMOs will die in 2023.
