The MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar (SotA) has a tumultuous past. The CEO of the new development studio Catnip Games explained that new players are deterred by the erroneous, negative image of the online game.
What did the CEO mean? Chris Spears is the CEO of Catnip Games. The studio recently took over the MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar from Portalarium. He wrote in the official forum that more players are needed.
“The erroneous negative image that the game has outside our community is the biggest dragon we need to slay to expand our user base,” he explains.
Spears believes that media should write more about the positive aspects. In his opinion, the negative image keeps new players away.
Which site does Spears praise? Chris Spears refers to the website The Avatar Express. This site is run by fans of the MMORPG and regularly reports positively about the game. Spears sees this as a good example of how the media should report on Shroud of the Avatar to prevent a negative image from forming.
A negative image?
What does the image of the MMORPG look like? Shroud of the Avatar has been dealing with criticism since the end of the Kickstarter campaign in 2013. This manifests in various ways:
- The game, announced as a Selective Multiplayer RPG, was supposed to provide a single-player experience that could also be played online – in the end, it was released as an MMORPG.
- The MMORPG was released unfinished in March 2018, and even today some quests cannot be completed.
- Success did not occur, leading to a number of staff layoffs.
- The publisher Travian Games dropped out at the end of 2018.
- The game transitioned to a Free2Play model about a year ago .
- Richard Garriott resigned as CEO.
- The office had to be relinquished and the developers continued working from home.
- The developer studio Portalarium handed over the assets of Shroud of the Avatar to Catnip Games. The new studio was founded by the last Portalarium CEO Chris Spears.
- The bound and signed book promised during the Kickstarter campaign was replaced with in-game items.
Mixed player opinions
Is it really true that only negatives are reported? The biggest headlines surrounding SotA are not exactly positive. The website MassivelyOP took Chris Spears’ statement as an opportunity to list how many articles have been written about the MMORPG since 2015 and how many of them were positive. The list is extensive.
How do new players feel about the MMORPG? On Steam, new reviews for Shroud of the Avatar are frequently seen. However, these are quite mixed. Currently (as of October 28, 11:15 AM) the reviews are mostly negative at 38 percent.
- Durrty writes after 44.1 hours of gameplay on Steam: “It should be a good game, but it is not. It is still so buggy and you can’t even report bugs without paying.”
- apas on the other hand says: “A good, relaxed old-school MMO. It’s just fun to chill in the game every now and then.
It still has its quirks regarding performance and quests. But as a sandbox game with guild friends, it is fun.”
