Featured Image Credit: Netmarble
Topics: Steam, PC, Free Games
The live-service realm of gaming is struggling, and yet another casualty has arisen.
Just over one year after originally surfacing, it’s been revealed that free-to-play RPG King Arthur: Legends Rise will soon shut down.
To be precise, the game will end availability on 12 March, so you only have a few more days to play.
King Arthur: Legends Rise is described as a “dark squad RPG” and is, of course, inspired by the legend of the titular King Arthur.
“Gather loyal heroes, explore a vast world, and battle against mythical bosses and monsters to restore the kingdom's former glory,” the synopsis reads.
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I’m not entirely surprised that the game is shutting down. I’ve just hopped onto SteamDB and it has a measly 43 players at the time of writing.
Its 24 hour peak sits at 53. Even its all-time peak is only 757 and that was set 13 months ago.
Thankfully, that means that I can’t imagine many of you are disappointed. Even still, you have to feel for the developers who, regardless of the game’s reception, likely poured so much into this experience.
The game doesn’t have anything in the way of a MetaCritic score, but it sits at ‘Mixed’ on Steam with 61% of players enjoying what’s on offer.
“We extend our sincere apologies for having to deliver this sudden and regrettable news to all our users and the community,” said a statement from the devs on the shutdown, as reported by ComicBook.
“The unwavering interest and support you have shown have been fundamental in sustaining the service until now.
“However, after extensive internal consideration and discussion, we have arrived at the difficult decision that it is no longer feasible to provide continuous service.
“We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who joined us on this legendary journey in Britain.”
As a live-service game, King Arthur: Legends Rise does feature microtransactions, so I do sincerely hope there aren’t too many players stuck feeling like their purchases have now been ripped away.
King Arthur: Legends Rise isn’t the only live-service casualty in recent years.
Concord is perhaps the most famous example. Designed to be a major PlayStation exclusive, the game shut down after just two weeks.
Highguard met the same fate just a few weeks ago, announcing a closure only 45 days after launching.
Marathon is the latest live-service game to hit the market but that appears to have healthy player numbers for now.