In September 2014, ArcheAge was released in the West. With a score of 80, it is among the best MMORPGs on Metacritic. However, the sandbox game is reportedly facing closure, according to a Korean insider.
Update July 27: XL Games has since commented and apologized for the “concerns” raised by the article. ArcheAge will continue to receive updates in the future, and there are no plans for discontinuation in other regions such as North America/Europe or Russia (via ArcheAge).
The publisher Kakao Games also responded to inquiry from MassivelyOP, echoing XL Games’ statements and responding to questions about contract length:
The post is in Korean, but essentially states that the article by MTN contained some inaccuracies in its reporting, particularly regarding plans to halt services in global regions. It reaffirms that “there are no plans to discontinue services in Korea, North America/Europe, Russia, and other regional services; however, some regions that are not performing as expected are being evaluated for service termination.”
[…] And we assure you that our team is currently working on localization for upcoming updates. (As a note: A developer letter regarding upcoming content will be published tomorrow).
And finally, as you may already know, we cannot disclose contractual information.
What is currently happening with ArcheAge? According to the website MTN, which has previously been noted for accurate insider reports, there is to be a major restructuring at XL Games, the developer of the MMORPG. Some employees have reportedly been offered severance pay equivalent to three months’ salary for resignations, while others were reassigned from ArcheAge to a new department.
The MMORPG is expected to be put into a “maintenance mode” in Korea, only receiving minor updates to keep it running.
However, a more serious issue for us is another paragraph. According to this, licenses for other regions will not be renewed if they expire. This means: If a contract for the servers in the West ends, ArcheAge will be shut down immediately – without a maintenance mode.
When could this happen? Currently, we do not know how long the contracts last. The shutdown could theoretically happen in a few weeks or not for a few years.
Why is there a restructuring? According to the insider report, ArcheAge costs about 10 million euros annually to maintain. The costs need to be reduced by at least 30% to return to profitability, it is said.
The value is surprisingly poor for a game that was once a popular PC title.
ArcheAge was well-received at release, winning awards and getting good reviews
How well was ArcheAge received at release? In Korea, it won several game awards, including one in 2013 for its beautiful graphics. The sandbox concept was also well-received in the West.
It received praise for its combat system, shipbuilding, life as a pirate, and the very successful housing system. Players could do what they wanted and still always felt a sense of progress. The caravan events and the broad class system are features that players also wish for in other MMORPGs.
- The website PCGamesN gave the game an 8/10 and called it the game that “comes closest to a true fantasy sandbox experience.”
- Gaming Nexus even gave it an 88 and wrote: “The overall experience is simply too entertaining to miss, especially since the game is free.”
What happened then? Early on, there was an outcry about hackers, bots, and griefers ruining the gaming experience. Especially concerning land ownership, there were repeated instances of cheating due to the limited number of spots in the open world.
Updates followed that pushed ArcheAge increasingly towards Pay2Win. A major patch that was supposed to fix many bugs was delayed for a long time and then introduced very powerful weapons into the game. This disrupted the balance in PvP. Additionally, the new content focused more on gold farming and less on diverse gameplay.
With the Buy2Play version ArcheAge Unchained, an attempt was made in 2019 to win players back. The promise was to forgo Pay2Win and subscriptions, and at least initially, it was successful. With the publisher switch, the promise was then broken, and many players completely lost faith in ArcheAge.
Mobile games are replacing the “old” ArcheAge
How does XL Games earn money now? Mainly with ArcheAge War. This is a game that fully focuses on the PvP aspects of ArcheAge and has been released for PC and mobile. The MMORPG is expected to generate 3.6 million euros per month solely in licensing fees. Additionally, there is a share of revenue from sales in app stores.
Another good source of income is the game Moonlight Sculptor, which was also released for smartphones.
What about ArcheAge 2? The big hope for sandbox fans is the direct successor ArcheAge 2. This is set to be released in 2024. Until the restructuring, the two ArcheAge teams worked together in one department; however, the developers of the successor have now been moved to a separate team.
Here you can watch the first gameplay of ArcheAge 2:
Development of the new MMORPG is to continue as usual. No change to the release date has been announced yet.
What do you think about the gradual end of ArcheAge? Will you miss the sandbox MMORPG or do you have high hopes for the successor?
You can find the currently best Free2Play MMORPGs here: The 15 best Free2Play MMORPGs you can play in 2023.
