The cowboy MMO Wild West Online failed more than once. But the developers are not giving up and are bringing the game back as the steampunk sandbox MMO New Frontier. Will it go well?
What was Wild West Online? The western MMO was supposed to be a kind of Red Dead Online for PC. As an outlaw, you could rob banks and ambush players, and as lawmen, your task was to catch the bandits. Additionally, searching for artifacts and gold was on the agenda, and there were some quests to complete.
Failure is not an option
What happened to the game? In May 2018, the MMO launched and was bombarded with catastrophic reviews. Not only did the game appear completely unfinished, there were also accusations of fraud, as the developers were repeatedly said to have ties to the War-Z producer Sergey Titov. Titov has a bad reputation in the gaming community due to empty promises and dubious microtransactions with WarZ.
Ultimately, the developers attempted a restart via a free-to-play model, but this also failed. Consequently, the game was supposed to be released in two parts:
- Frontier was essentially supposed to adopt the sandbox principle with an open world, survival, and PvP.
- Magnificent 5 was meant to be a battle royale variant, where 20 teams of 5 players each would build forts, search for artifacts, and fight against each other.
However, only Magnificent 5 was released.
What has been announced now? Now, Wild West Online is set to return under the new title New Frontier.
- You will be exploring a large sandbox world
- Your tasks include collecting resources and trading with NPCs and other players
- You build your own settlements and fortifications
- In the wilderness, you can expect many dangers like magical storms and monsters
- You team up with other players into alliances to compete against each other in PvP.
Cowboys vs. Aliens?
What is special about it? The game aims to combine steampunk elements, monsters, and the Wild West.
This makes the scenario with gigantic battle robots, cowboys, and monsters quite unusual.
Can the team learn from its mistakes?
Who is developing the game? In the official forum, the admin explains that the game is now being taken over by a new team. Sergey Titov is on board as a financial backer.
What happened to Frontier and Magnificent 5? Frontier has been converted to New Frontier and Magnificent 5 continues to exist as a battle royale variant.
When can you play? You can now sign up for the early access phase, which has recently started.
If you played Wild West Online, you can simply join in New Frontier. Your account will be transferred. By the way, there should be no wipes, and the developers plan weekly updates with new content.
What do the players think? There are already some reactions to the game. Those who were fans of Wild West Online want to give New Frontier a chance as well. However, after the tumultuous past of the game, there is still some skepticism.
The microtransaction model is already facing criticism. Because, for example, to build buildings, you need tools. However, these are currently only available in the item shop.
The development team, however, explains that the loot is being revised so that you can find the tools in the game as well.
One can be curious whether New Frontier will have a better fate than Wild West Online.
