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MMORPG Wildstar Shutting Down, Developer Carbine Closed
Wildstar, a sci-fi western-based MMORPG, is shutting down as the developer Carbine closes. The studio confirmed their closure in a statement to Kotaku today, culminating after months of pulling away from community engagement in the game.
“Today, we are closing Carbine Studios and will begin the process of winding WildStar down to ultimately shutter the game,” Carbine parent company NCSoft said in a statement to Kotaku. “WildStar players who have spent money within the game will be refunded purchases from July 1, 2018 until the payment system is shut off. We are also in the process of identifying the teams that will be doing the work to bring WildStar to a close. These decisions are very difficult to make and we are in the midst of shifting as many of our teammates as possible into other roles within the organization.”
Wildstar was first announced at Gamescom 2011 with a stated intention to differentiate itself from World of Warcraft, which many of the Carbine staff worked on. The game finally released in June 2014 with a monthly subscription. After a few months, NCSoft announced that the game would instead go free-to-play, which itself seemingly did not catch on. An exact date for the shut down has not been given.
On the game's subreddit, Wildstar fans are expressing their displeasure about the pending end days and are hoping Carbine allows private servers after the game shuts down. Most, however, do not find it particularly surprising.
"Let's be honest, though.. Carbine Studios and NCSoft did this to themselves," wrote one of the top comments. "Unprofessional management, warring departments in the company, a lost vision that was conflicted by infighting and pressure to rush to market.. I was truly invested in Wildstar early on but quickly found that the game had no real direction and that Carbine Studios was a messy developer and chaos ensued at every step of development."
Another comment puts it more succinctly. "Great game. Awesome music. Decent combat. Inevitable ending."
[Source: Kotaku]
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