At the end of March, all employees of the Chronicles of Elyria developer were laid off. The MMORPG was officially dead. Now the CEO speaks out and says that’s not entirely true. What is behind it?
This is what happened: At the end of March, Soulbound Studio CEO Jeromy Walsh addressed his community and explained that the development of the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria had come to a halt.
The reason is the funding of the development. Despite a very successful Kickstarter campaign and subsequent crowdfunding through supporter packages, the money ran out after years of development. The developers are said to have raised nearly 8 million dollars.
The search for alternative funding or a publisher was also unsuccessful.
The result was shocking for many fans. On March 24, all employees of Soulbound Studios were laid off, and the MMORPG seemed officially dead.
Chronicles of Elyria lives on – somehow
This is the current status: In an email to all supporters of the title and on the official Kickstarter page, CEO Jeromy Walsh is speaking out again.
According to him, everyone misinterpreted his last message, and the ambitious MMORPG is not completely dead. The announcement on March 24 arose out of concern and was intended to help his employees find a paid job.
It was not his intention for everyone to believe that development had completely collapsed. Although all the developers were laid off, some of them are continuing.
As Walsh writes:
It was never my intention to permanently end the development of the game, disregard your contributions, or not uphold what we promised. In fact, some of the team members have agreed to continue development while I find solutions. I and a team of consultants are currently exploring other funding sources and hope to have more concrete news for you soon.
Jeromy Walsh
Walsh wants to compile a detailed FAQ and improve his communication with the community. By adopting a more transparent approach, he also wants to regain the trust of those who have already invested a lot of money in the game.
Because they are already taking legal action against the CEO and want not only their money back.
