The layoff of about half of the employees at the developer studio Portalarium is now having an impact on the MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar.
Last month, the developer studio Portalarium had to announce that for financial reasons several employees had to be laid off. It has now been confirmed that about half of the staff who worked on Shroud of the Avatar were affected.
Designer Richard “Lord British” Garriott mentioned in the official forum that the studio has taken “a hit”, but they are now trying to get everything back on track. However, the layoff of so many employees is now showing effects on the MMORPG.
Kickstarter promise cannot be fulfilled
Expensively purchased Kickstarter promise will not come. During the Kickstarter campaign for Shroud of the Avatar in 2013, backers could purchase, for at least $5,000, the opportunity to receive a unique head for their character. This would then be created by the developers based on a submitted photo.
However, the team has now had to announce that this feature will not be implemented. Financial, time, and also technical reasons stand in the way of fulfilling this promise.
As a substitute, there will now be crafted game items by the developers such as decoration for housing, weapons, or armor. Many fans are not only disappointed about this change in the official game forum but also angry. After all, $5,000 is not an insignificant amount of money. Receiving some item instead of the head is unacceptable for many. Nevertheless, the team insists on this change.
Was there still a book…
What about the novel for Shroud of the Avatar? Also during the Kickstarter campaign, a novel titled “Blade of the Avatar” was announced for all backers who donated at least $200. This was supposed to be sent as a printed book. Those who spent at least $500 were to receive a copy signed by Richard Garriott and author Tracy Hickman.
As so far not even the other physical items like box, fabric map, manual, and more have been sent, but all this has already been produced and is just about to be shipped, the question arose in the SotA forum about what is happening with the novel. It has not been mentioned for a long time.
Producer Starr Long then explained that the production of the book is next on the agenda and it cannot be shipped with the other items due to logistical reasons. However, many are annoyed by this explanation. How the book will proceed, when it will arrive, and whether there will be additional shipping costs is still open.
The MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar launched officially on March 27. However, the player numbers leave much to be desired, which was probably also a reason for the layoffs. Nevertheless, the developer studio plans a second episode, which apparently is to be funded again through Kickstarter.
