The MMORPG Echo of Soul was released back in 2015, both in its own client and later on Steam. However, support on Valve’s platform is set to end. According to the official announcement, there will be no account transfers. Players are expected to create a new account.
What is going on? Echo of Soul is an MMORPG published in the West by Aeria Games, a subsidiary of Gamigo. It was originally developed in Korea. The game has been, and continues to be, available in various versions:
- Echo of Soul is available as a Free2Play game through Aeria Games. This version is also known as “Phoenix”, named after a major update that made many changes.
- On Steam, there is a separate Buy2Play version of the game, which is actually a sort of “Classic”. Since May 23, 2018, when Echo of Soul Classic officially closed, it has not received any updates.
- In Korea, Echo of Soul was already discontinued in 2015 and is now set to return as Echo of Soul: The Blue, a new version being published by Kakao Games, the publisher of Black Desert.
- Additionally, there is Echo of Soul: The Red – however, this is a standalone mobile game.
Now the version of Echo of Soul on Steam is to be completely closed. The developers announced December 7, 2020, as the date, although the Steam page can no longer be accessed.
Furthermore, the developers stated that there would be no account takeover. Anyone who played on Steam previously will have to create a completely new account with Aeria Games – losing all progress in the process.
Events for New Players as Compensation
What exactly did the developers say? Since Echo of Soul is no longer accessible on Steam, the following information comes from the website MassivelyOP, which has taken up the statement:
We have internally discussed the development of Echo of Soul on Steam. We have concluded that it will be difficult to continuously offer a stable service, and therefore, the service “Echo of Soul on Steam” will end on December 7, 2020.
Players who wish to continue playing EOS can set up a new account with Echo of Soul through ‘Aeria Games’ after the game ends on Steam. Aeria Games is currently preparing various events, for example, for new players. Please create a new account to continue playing EOS (North America/Europe).
Announcement by the developers on Steam
The statement also does not mention anything about possible refunds for money spent. After all, Echo of Soul was Buy2Play and also offered microtransactions.
How many players are affected? The protests against the closure on Steam are likely to be quite small. According to SteamCharts, Echo of Soul has had only 0.4 players daily in the last 30 days. At peak, 4 players logged in simultaneously on Steam.
What kind of game is it, anyway? The theme park MMORPG offers the typical mix of PvE and PvP. Therefore, there were raids, dungeons, and quests. On the PvP side, in addition to the usual arena battles, skirmishes between guilds are also possible. You can also level up entirely through PvP.
As a special feature, Echo of Soul relies on a system of souls. You can loot them during battle and use them to customize your hero. Similar to Guild Wars 2, Echo of Soul does without traditional healers and instead allows every class the ability to heal themselves.
Although Echo of Soul had some interesting approaches, it could never really establish itself. It also did not make it into our MeinMMO list of the best Free2Play MMORPGs.
