With Elyon, a new MMORPG from the makers of TERA was released in October 2021. But even before the release, many were disappointed with the game. It will be permanently shut down on December 7th. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch looks back.
What kind of game was it? Elyon was announced in 2017 under the name Ascent: Infinite Realm. At that time, it was supposed to be an action MMORPG with steampunk elements and massive airships. Still, there were orcs, dungeons, raids, and huge battles in the air. It sounded really exciting, and at the time everyone was hungry for a new MMORPG.
But the combat system did not convince, and the beta feedback in Korea was poor. Only the monster design received real praise. The publisher Kakao Games even considered scrapping A:IR entirely, but already 40 million dollars were invested.
In early 2020, the rebranding to Elyon took place, and some mechanics were completely revamped:
- At its core, the combat system was streamlined, aiming was improved, and aerial combat was removed.
- The iconic airships also disappeared.
- The classes were revamped, and a special talent system was introduced that brought a lot of flexibility to the abilities.
- It felt like the world overall became smaller and more monotonous, referring to the hearsay from the beta of A:IR.
However, the game’s focus remained on PvP. But instead of the epic battles in the air, all players gathered in a chaos of effects on the ground. This was not well received.
Weak start on Steam, no chance against New World and Lost Ark
How did it go at release? Even before the release, I said that Elyon certainly has the potential not to be a complete flop. I saw especially a niche for PvP fans who could switch from Black Desert or TERA to Elyon. This was supported by the combat system and the general direction. However, the monetization and release timing had to be right.
But Elyon was released in October 2021, just a few weeks after New World. At peak, it reached “only” 15,500 concurrent players on Steam. New World, on the other hand, recorded over 900,000 concurrent players in September and still managed to engage about 500,000 players when Elyon was released.
But even compared to other MMORPGs that were released in 2021, it fell behind:
Bless Unleashed, for example, reached 76,273 concurrent players at release, which took place in August 2021. Swords of Legends Online, primarily promoted by Gameforge in its own client, reached 18,701 players on Steam. The release took place in spring 2021.
The interest in Elyon was low from the beginning and still dropped rapidly. By March 2022, it was no longer reaching even 500 concurrent players during peak times. The reasons for this are straightforward:
- The characters in the game look like generic Asian models.
- The starting experience was completely confusing – with many skills and a chaotic world. After a cutscene, players were thrown into a completely different environment, which was significantly calmer. But by then, many had already dropped out.
- There was PvP in the open world.
- During equipment upgrades, it could break completely.
- Accordingly, there were items in the real-money shop that facilitated upgrades and prevented destruction.
In the end, Elyon did everything wrong from a Western perspective that one could possibly do wrong.
Elyon will also be shut down in Korea
When will Elyon be discontinued? Elyon is set to be shut down on Wednesday, December 7th, right in time for the regular maintenance. This typically takes place at 10:00 AM German time.
Anyone wanting to take another look at Elyon should hurry. In fact, two new classes were released since the launch, one even only after the shutdown was announced.
By the way, Elyon will not only die in the West. The service will also end in its home country Korea on March 2, 2023. There, the MMORPG ran for about two years, as the release took place in Korea at the end of 2020.
What do you think about Elyon? Do you mourn the MMORPG or was the shutdown obvious for you? What do you remember fondly, and what not?
Elyon is one of the MMORPGs whose demise I predicted as early as the beginning of the year:
