The action RPG Babylon’s Fall will be shut down just one year after its launch. The CEO of the developer Platinum Games apologized to fans in an interview for the disappointment, but insists that the devs have “learned a lot”.
What kind of game is this? Babylon’s Fall was developed by the studio Platinum Games and was released on February 28, 2022. The developer is mainly known and popular for their action-packed games like Bayonetta and Nier: Automata. Consequently, Babylon’s Fall is also an action RPG.
However, its launch was overshadowed by controversy: After it was announced at E3 2021 that the game would be a live service game with microtransactions, it faced backlash. The subsequent beta tests could not convince players of Babylon’s Fall.
The game started on Steam with just 1,166 players at its all-time peak and at one point fell to a single active player. On Metacritic, Babylon’s Fall received a dismal score of 46 points from critics. Among PS5 games, it is only outdone by the 34 points of eFootball 2022.
“We are very sorry for the disappointment we caused”
What the CEO says: In September, it was announced that Babylon’s Fall would be taken offline on March 3, 2023, almost a year after its launch. In an interview with videogamechronicle.com, the CEO of Platinum Games, Atsushi Inaba, spoke for the first time since the announcement about the shutdown:
[…] The disappointment we caused our fanbase is something we are extremely sorry about. […] As developers, we are not very happy when we cannot bring joy or fun to players with our creations. […]
Yet despite the debacle, the CEO wants to maintain the current course of the company. He wants to produce more live service games in the future, but to learn from the mistakes of Babylon’s Fall. “Nothing has changed” regarding those plans.
There is much we have learned from this experience, and it does not change our plans for the future or our outlook on our goal to develop live service games. It is definitely something we want to pursue and strive for in the future. […]
There are basically two pillars that we can take a closer look at in our development team. The first is the pure fun of core gameplay mechanics found in live service games. The second is executing the live service. I think these two pillars must be strongly interconnected internally. […]
These reactions exist: In one of the largest gaming subreddits r/games, the news that Platinum wants to continue producing live service games was met with little enthusiasm. The developer is especially known and popular among fans for their blockbuster and action-packed single-player titles.
Skepticism regarding the shift towards live service was already vociferous before the release of Babylon’s Fall. After the flop, players now feel validated in their opinions.
- “It’s crazy that they are planning more live service games. I don’t know why anyone should trust them after this.” – paperDisgrace
- “Very disappointing to hear that they want to allocate further resources towards live service projects. […]” – 197639495050
- “So is it not a real apology?” – SmoothCriminalJM
There were some voices expressing regret over the shutdown of Babylon’s Fall and noted that they had fun with the game. Some also made individual suggestions for interesting live service concepts for Platinum, such as a multiplayer Vanquish game.
The majority of commentators, however, were disappointed that Platinum Games wants to maintain its current course.
What is your opinion on Platinum wanting to deliver more live service games? Would you give the developer a second chance after Babylon’s Fall? Let us know in the comments.
