There is new information about the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria (CoE). The development studio announced that it is developing a strategy game aimed at those who prefer the settlement part. Fans are not very enthusiastic.
What is the status of Chronicles of Elyria? The MMORPG raised over $1.3 million via Kickstarter in 2016. Through further actions and sales, such as in-game Advent calendars, the funding amount increased to almost $8 million.
Then came the big bang. On March 25, 2020, the CEO of Soulbound Studios announced the cancellation of the MMORPG. All employees were laid off.
This led to a lawsuit from the players, which was followed by an apology from the studio. According to the founder of Soulbound Studios, Jeromy “Caspian” Walsh, the development of CoE will continue, albeit at a slower pace. The MMORPG is definitely set to release.
Instead of an MMORPG, now a strategy game is coming first
What did the studio announce now? In a new video update, “Caspian” announced that another game is currently in development. Kingdoms of Elyria (KoE) is a strategy game where you build and manage a settlement.
Why is a strategy game coming now? This building part has always been part of the overall concept of Chronicles of Elyria. Jeromy Walsh explains:
Chronicles of Elyria was designed from the beginning to allow players to have different experiences based on their interests. While everyone who plays begins their life in a settlement, many of you will later establish your own. For those who do, CoE seamlessly merges an MMORPG with a colony or settlement simulation.
Jeromy Walsh, founder of Soulbound Studios
This settlement simulation will now be released as a standalone game, and every backer of the Kickstarter campaign with at least Elyrian-level will receive the game for free. KoE will also be sold, with the revenue then flowing into the development of the MMORPG.
Kingdoms of Elyria will be released in four phases, with the first phase starting around the end of 2021.
What is the future of CoE? According to “Caspian”, work on the MMORPG will continue, and what the team learns during the development of Kingdoms of Elyria will influence the work on CoE.
What do the fans say about this situation? The community is somewhat divided over this announcement. Some fans believe that KoE has always been part of the game and it is not bad to release it now as a standalone product. Others feel that work on the MMORPG should continue.
- Brynath writes on reddit: “To summarize: They are still working on the game, but have changed their focus again and are now developing a standalone top-down game that will somehow give them momentum to continue with the MMO.”
- ZeekTheRedditor is somewhat upset (via reddit): “Desperate MMO developer advertises Banished ripoff as proof that they are still working on a multi-million-dollar MMO project.”
- DeepDashin explains it on reddit: “It’s not a new game per se. KoE has always been planned to test your kingdom and settlement management, but they just pushed it forward to get money, it seems.”
The decision to want to release a strategy game now, after all that has happened around CoE, of course leads to discussions. However, these are still being handled reasonably. The major accusations are still absent, even if disappointment and surprise are palpable.
What do you think about the matter? Do you think it’s okay that the developers of CoE are now developing a strategy game to gain more money?
Chronicles of Elyria is one of the games in the MeinMMO list of the 7 biggest MMOs that have been and are funded by players.
