In 2018, Epic Games shut down its MOBA Paragon because it could not engage enough players long term. Now it might return in the form of the project “Overprime.” You currently cannot play the project.
What Paragon was: The arena shooter Paragon was released in 2016 for the PS4 and PC, but was only meant to stay online for two years. Already in April 2018, the game was shut down by Epic Games. The explanation back then: While the game was well received by many, in the end only a fraction remained. So there was, in the end, a enthusiastic but small fanbase for Paragon.
Then Fortnite became a massive success, and resources from Paragon were diverted for the development of the Battle Royale. Content updates for Paragon became less and less, until the plug was finally pulled.
However, the story of Paragon did not end with its shutdown. A petition called for – ultimately in vain – the rescue of the popular game. However, Epic Games released the game’s assets in the Unreal Engine asset store, where anyone could use them who wanted to work with the engine.
This led to the creation of the fan project “Overprime”, which is now taking the next step.
Update: 01/25/2021: Note added.
Overprime developers join a larger studio
This is Overprime: Overprime looks like a mix between Paragon and Overwatch. It has been developed for some time by the South Korean team “SoulEVE.” They state that they want to recreate the good gameplay experience from Paragon in this project and are also taking feedback from players who loved Paragon.
Currently, there are 21 playable characters and one map with the possibility of playing 5 vs 5 matches. The developers want to focus on fast, action-packed team fights. Currently, it is only available for testing on PC, but the developers also aim for consoles and crossplay later.
So far, SoulEVE has reportedly developed the game almost as a part-time job, but this is now going to change. The Korean studio Netmarble, known primarily for mobile games, has purchased Team SoulEVE according to a report by the Korean site Inven. The developers are now expected to join the Netmarble F&C division and continue working on Overprime (via Inven).
Already in December 2020, it was announced via Twitter that further developers had been brought on board and that they would switch to full-time work on the game. The developers stated back then that they wanted to further improve Paragon – and were aiming for a release on Steam followed by the PS5.
There are currently no clear dates for Overprime yet, but it looks like the game is now going to take the next development steps.
Are you looking for new shooter games? Then perhaps Scavengers is something for you – it is supposed to be a new kind of shooter.
