With Legends of Aria, the developer Citadel Studios initially aimed to create a kind of successor to Ultima Online. There were many parallels. However, the MMORPG turned out to be a flop on Steam. Now, the standalone version Aria 2.0 is supposed to save the universe.
What’s the status of Legends of Aria? The sandbox MMORPG promised many freedoms and finally celebrated its release as a Buy2Play title in the summer of 2019. However, the large player numbers were absent. At its peak, it reached just 1,170 simultaneous players (via SteamDB).
Therefore, in December 2019 a switch to a Free2Play model took place, but that didn’t bring any revival either.
In the last 30 days, Legends of Aria only had 20 average players and 42 simultaneous at peak. In the Steam reviews, only 57% gave a positive rating. Some planned updates came much later than originally announced.
We at MeinMMO had therefore already predicted the death of the game for 2021 back in January:
What will happen now with the MMORPG? In the October update, the developers announced that they are working on “Aria 2.0”. This is supposed to be a standalone game in the universe of Legends of Aria.
This version, however, is supposed to offer a better engine and some other advantages that are meant to make Aria 2.0 a better sandbox MMORPG. They also commented on the future of Legends of Aria.
New Engine, New Perspective, and New Game Content
What is Aria 2.0 supposed to offer? The new game is supposed to run on the improved Shards Engine 2. This will also change the perspective in the game. While Legends of Aria was played in an isometric perspective – just like the model Ultima Online – the new title will now offer the classic third-person view.
Additionally, the following adjustments are planned:
- The expansion of sandbox elements in the game
- A return to the skill system that was once planned before the release of Legends of Aria
- Fighting while mounted
- New content, points of interest, and regular PvE and PvP events
- A revamp of the user interface
- Better collision detection with boats
- A swimming feature
- An optional “positional voice chat”
When is Aria 2.0 supposed to be released? The development of the new game is expected to take months, but not years. A release seems to be aimed for 2022.
An official announcement for Aria 2.0 is expected soon. Initial playtests are already planned. Loyal players of Legends of Aria will receive early access.
Legends of Aria will continue
What will happen with Legends of Aria? Since Aria 2.0 will be a standalone game, Legends of Aria will also remain in its current form. Officially, the developers state:
We will continue to support Legends of Aria. The Legends of Aria Worlds program (community servers) is alive and will continue to be supported in the future. When Aria 2.0 goes into testing, we will offer our subscribers the opportunity to play it.
However, it is questionable what “continue to support” actually means. Because the developers themselves have postponed the “Pont Release 11” indefinitely. It was supposed to come in 2021, but the team was too reduced to implement it.
The last major update for Legends of Aria was in 2020.
What do you think about the future of Legends of Aria? Will Aria 2.0 be the nail in the coffin for the MMORPG? And have you tried the game yourself?
In addition to Legends of Aria and Aria 2.0, the developers are working on another game: The End – a “dark fantasy” survival MMO. We have introduced it to you in more detail here:
MMORPG Legends of Aria is a flop – Now the developer announces a new MMO
