The promising PvE MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen (PC) has received a funding boost. This is intended to further the development. In 2021, the online role-playing game aims to achieve several milestones.
What is Pantheon? The PC MMORPG follows in the footsteps of the classic Everquest 1 and aims to provide a player experience primarily focused on groups. The team essentially wants to offer an online role-playing game that illustrates how the genre could have evolved from Everquest 1 if World of Warcraft had not existed – even if it currently doesn’t come across as very modern graphically.
The focus is on quests, story, dungeons, and raids that you experience in a team. The MMORPG offers a classic experience with the Holy Trinity of tank, damage dealer, and healer and tactical tab-targeting combat.
More Money for the MMORPG Pantheon
What kind of investment is this? The development studio Visionary Realms announced that they have received a seven-figure amount as a private investment in the MMORPG (that is, between 1,000,000 and 9,999,999 US dollars). However, no specific details about this deal were mentioned.
As a first step, the studio hired Christopher R. Kronenthal, an expert in global solutions architecture and omni-channel environments, as a new member of the management team.
We are very happy that Chris Kronenthal has joined us and is supporting us in closing the funding round. The partnership just makes sense. He has incredible insight and a rare acumen that aligns with all our goals for Pantheon and Visionary Realms as a company.
Statement from Christopher Rowan, Chairman and CEO Visionary Realms
Kronenthal himself explains that he finds Visionary Realms very committed and competent in all matters related to game design and ecosystem, technology, and architecture. He believes that players of all kinds will enjoy the epic adventure of Pantheon.
What will the money be used for? The team announced that the seven-figure amount does not represent the full financing necessary to complete Pantheon.
The studio plans to use the funds to continue the development of the game, make preparations to support the more than 8,000 players who have already signed up for an alpha version of the game, and strengthen its back-end systems that support the game client, accounts, and front-end web platforms.
Statement from Visionary Realms
What is the current status of the MMORPG? The team continually showcases new versions, which are slowly taking on the character of a full-fledged MMORPG. In a recent livestream with YouTuber and role-playing expert Ben “CohhCarnage” Cassell, a dungeon run was shown where the developers particularly proudly displayed the now mostly functional music in the game.
This clearly shows that while work is being done on the game, progress is slow.
There is also a reason for this. At the end of 2019, Visionary Realms had to announce the sudden death of studio founder Brad McQuaid, who was known for his work on the MMORPG classics Everquest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. This has led to some restructuring, but the team is now slowly getting back on track.
When can we expect the release? Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is not expected to be released before 2022. The alpha could still launch this year, but a release date is currently not foreseeable. The team is taking its time to implement the vision of the late Brad McQuaid and satisfy fans of classic MMORPGs.
MeinMMO author Andreas Bertits is very much looking forward to Pantheon. It belongs to the 5 MMORPGs that particularly interest him.
