Skyforge Servers Getting the Boot: Another MMO Bites the Dust (and Not in a Fun Zombie Way)
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
*Skyforge*, the free-to-play MMO, is shutting down its PC servers on September 3rd and console servers on October 29th, marking the end of its run, which honestly sounds a bit overdue. But before the final curtain, expect some farewell events to let you go out with a bang (or at least a slightly confused whimper).
Right, so *Skyforge*, the free-to-play MMO born from the minds at Allods Team and Obsidian Entertainment (yes, *that* Obsidian), is officially calling it quits. Game Rant broke the news, and frankly, it's a bit of a staggered execution. The PC version gets the chop on September 3rd, while console players on PS4, Xbox, and even the Switch get a temporary reprieve until October 29th.
I reckon anyone who downloaded it on PC can keep pottering about until the servers go dark, but let's be honest, the writing's been on the wall for ages. SteamDB suggests a peak of, ahem, *16* concurrent players recently. Ouch. I've seen more players than that trying to figure out the crafting system in *Minecraft*. Live-service games need a constant stream of love (and, you know, *players*) to survive, and *Skyforge* clearly ran out of momentum. You might even say it crash-landed.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Innova, the publisher, is apparently planning a bit of a "farewell tour" with special events and opportunities to mess about with gear before the lights go out. Think of it as one last experimental blast before the universe resets. PC players will likely get first dibs on these shenanigans, so if you're feeling nostalgic, now's the time to dust off your old account.
Honestly, these shutdowns are always a bit sad, aren't they? It's like watching a digital pet slowly fade away. *Skyforge* did snag an MMORPG of the Year award back in its early days, but that was before the internet decided it needed to move on to the next shiny thing. And look, no one ever really seemed to know what to do with Skyforge’s free-to-play system. Like, there were cool ideas in there, but did they all come together? Not even close.
Look, there aren't official reasons for the sunsetting of *Skyforge* but I figure the most likely is the game didn't generate enough ongoing revenue to justify keeping the lights on. The costs associated with running any live service game are astronomical so I imagine it was a straightforward cost benefit analysis to close it down. So I doubt we'll ever know the full details or the real reason for certain, it's just a shame to see this one go.
Anyway, pour one out for *Skyforge*, mates. Another one bites the dust. But hey, at least we have a mountain of other games to explore, right?
Tags: MMORPG, Skyforge, Game Shutdown, Obsidian Entertainment, Free-to-Play
Original article: Game Rant