Many of the MMORPG heavyweights like WoW or EVE Online have accompanied us for decades, but what about the games that weren’t so lucky? We took a look at which MMORPGs had to close down the fastest.
How was the list created? The selection of titles is based on the release date and the date on which the servers were shut down. We focus on titles that were actually officially released. Early access games are therefore not included in our evaluation.
Rank 5 – Tabula Rasa
Developer: NCSoft | Release: November 2, 2007 | Shutdown: March 1, 2009
What kind of game is this? Tabula Rasa was a classic MMORPG set in a sci-fi environment. Aliens invaded Earth, and the surviving humans had to escape to other planets, hoping not to be caught. Of course, there were also dangers to overcome there.
The MMORPG relied on tab-targeting combat and a classic class system based on the Holy Trinity of tank, healer, and damage dealer. When you reached a higher level, you could further specialize your class, similar to what happens in current NCSoft titles like Guild Wars 2.
What was particularly notable about the game was that it was developed by Richard Garriott, the creator of Ultima. He had left Electronic Arts and created Tabula Rasa for NCSoft, which ultimately became the game’s downfall.
You can watch the trailer for the game here:
Why is the game dead? There were two different reasons. First, Richard Garriott announced in November 2008, about a year after the MMORPG’s release, that he would leave NCSoft due to various disagreements. Without the creative mind behind the game, the publisher seemed to see little reason to continue the title.
The other problem was probably the numbers. According to NCSoft, Tabula Rasa fell far short of expectations in terms of player numbers and revenues. On March 1, 2009, the MMORPG was shut down after only 15 months of operation.
Rank 4 – Bless Online
Developer: Neowiz | Release: May 20, 2018 | Shutdown: September 9, 2019
What kind of game is this? Anyone who has been interested in the MMORPG scene in recent years turns up their nose when they see the name Bless Online. While the game itself had a good concept and was seen as a big hope from Asia, a lot went wrong all around.
In Bless Online, you should choose a class and engage in fast action-combat battles through various quests, a storyline, and a sophisticated PvP system. The war between two opposing nations was at the center of the latter. You were supposed to gather resources and complete missions to support your faction.
The game had a long development phase as various betas received negative reviews, and individual mechanics had to be adjusted repeatedly. After several delays, the MMORPG was officially released on Steam on May 20, 2018.
You can watch the trailer for the game here:
Why is the game dead? The MMORPG was originally marketed as a buy-to-play title and was released as such. You had to buy the game to play it. Additionally, Bless Online had a controversial in-game shop that relied, at least in part, on pay-to-win content.
Shortly after the release, however, it was decided to turn Bless into a free-to-play title, which angered many fans who had already bought the game. Furthermore, the game also disappointed in terms of technology and features.
Despite the long development time, it still had numerous bugs, and promised features were completely missing from the release version. When Bless Unleashed, a new MMORPG with similar assets, was announced for consoles, the servers of Bless Online became increasingly empty, until they were finally shut down in September 2019.
Bless Unleashed, on the other hand, is still running and even celebrated its release on PC in 2021. Although the game shares the name and a handful of assets, the MMORPGs have little to do with each other. Although there were also pay-to-win accusations against Unleashed, the game is in a much better position than Bless Online.
Rank 3 – Chronicles of Spellborn
Developer: Spellborn International | Release: November 27, 2008 | Shutdown: July 2009
What kind of game is this? Chronicles of Spellborn offered a relatively new and little-used mechanic in an MMORPG for its time. Armor and weapons had no effect on how strong your character actually was.
All equipment served only a cosmetic purpose in this game, while the strength of your character was ultimately defined by the levels of your skills. Aside from this new mechanic, Chronicles of Spellborn featured typical MMORPG fare.
This mostly consisted of numerous fetch quests, an open world with a post-apocalyptic scenario, 9 different classes that functioned together in a Holy Trinity and were available in two races. Even if you didn’t farm for equipment, you still had to kill monsters and grind to level up your skills.
You can see a first glimpse of the gameplay here:
Why is the game dead? There is no really spectacular reason behind the end of Chronicles of Spellborn. It simply did not have enough players to cover the costs for the publisher. The game relied on a subscription service and had monthly fees, which is why few new fans joined the MMORPG.
Additionally, the competition at the time was somewhat further along in terms of technology and gameplay. Consequently, Chronicles of Spellborn sank without a trace and shut down the servers in Europe as early as July 2009. In America, they tried a switch to Free2Play, which ultimately did not bring the desired success either. The American servers went offline in August 2010.
However, the game still has some loyal fans to this day who brought back the MMORPG with the Chronicles of Spellborn – Reborn project. On this fan server, you can still play for free and get a glimpse of the MMORPG.
On the next page, we will continue with ranks 2, 1, and a special case.
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