Who would have thought we could make this into 3 parts? This last part will look at even more games shut down in 2022. I noticed it appears that a majority of the games that were shut down during this period shared some common denominators. The first one I saw was a trend game or perceived trend game that didn’t make enough money and was eventually shut down. The second factor that stood out was the sheer number of MMORPG games there are. I know in practice there have to be hundreds if not thousands of them, and I am an avid MMORPG gamer myself, but just the number of them that have been running for nearly a decade that I’m just hearing about is shocking. If you think I missed any games, go back to Part 1 and Part 2.
Survarium
Survarium, a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. inspired online shooter, has finally closed down after a spectacular seven-year run, all while never leaving early access. “A new chapter awaits,” the developer Vostok Games stated in the announcement of the closure of the game. Although the studio claims to be hiring for “a triple-A shooter game based on a new ambitious IP,” it might be some time before that project really begins and we see anything from it. Following the second Russian invasion, which started in February, some personnel of the Ukrainian studio were forced to flee Kyiv as well.
I will say after watching gameplay for this game it is less S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and more Fallen Earth and DayZ mixed with Call of Duty. It’s an FPS with the feel of Chernobylite without the story. Even though Survarium is not part of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, the creators included elements that were similar, particularly the anomalies and artifacts that are a nod to the Russian science fiction book Roadside Picnic and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Think of it as a multiplayer-only version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Heroes of Newerth
S2 Games created the MOBA game Heroes of Newerth for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The MOBA was based on Defense of the Ancients, a custom map for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The game was first made available on May 12, 2010, for a price, and on July 29, 2011, it was once again made available for free. Heroes of Newerth development responsibilities were transferred to Frostburn Studios on May 5, 2015, and the original development team relocated to new projects.
This game battled the titan League of Legends and ultimately lost, but the battle did not kill it. After its 2010 launch, Heroes of Newerth went on the run for another 10 years, but in December 2021, the developers Frostburn announced the closure of the game on June 20th, 2022.
Eternal Magic
A relatively recent MMO RPG, Eternal Magic, was created by Duoyi Network and published by 101X in 2020. With its enormous universe and dynamic action that included intense conflicts with up to 80 players at once, the game had a lot of potential. From an all-time high of 620 players back in the day to just 6 players at the start of January 2022, the game’s player count has drastically decreased. Which lead it to this list of games that closed in 2022.
Overall, it really looked like a typical MMORPG nothing to make it stand out and nothing to make it bad. It just couldn’t compete in a crowded market.
Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3’s multiplayer was yet another game in 2022 that Ubisoft finally shut down online services for. We covered Assassin’s Creed 3 in Part 1 and Far Cry 3 pretty much closed for the same reason. It was time, and they can’t keep it open forever. I mean, Far Cry 6 is out, meaning 6 full games just in the Far Cry timeline have come out since then. We have seen Blood Dragon, Far Cry 4, Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 5, Far Cry New Dawn, and Far Cry 6 since Far Cry 3 came out in 2012.
Far Cry 3 by a majority of the fan base, is considered the best Far Cry game, if not the best Ubisoft game. While that is debatable, there is no doubt we all remember Vaas and the madness that was Far Cry 3. In the multiplayer, players would take part in co-op missions with objectives rather than the usual team death match. It made the gameplay entertaining and refreshing, it made you want to constantly play. The gameplay got outrageous like single-player at times, and everything players learned from the story could be used in multiplayer. Sadly, players can’t relive this fascinating experience because the server is closing down. Did you get to experience this at the time? What is your favorite Far Cry game?
Killzone: Shadowfall
Online servers for Killzone Mercenary and the controversial PS4 launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall were shut down on August 12, 2022. A full 9 years after Shadow Fall, which was the last Killzone game that we know of, was released to the public, they finally pulled the plug. I was a massive fan of 2 and 3 but I never touched Shadowfall. I remember the day they took the Killzone 3 servers down. I fired up my PS3 and played a few rounds, saying a final farewell to the game that really got me into FPS games and sniping. I imagine that for the folks that actually liked this game, it was very much the same.
Again, like a lot of the games we have talked about, it makes sense for the servers to go down. 9 years is a lot of time to keep servers up considering that Gureilla has since released the smash hits Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, along with the VR title on the way, at least at the time of writing this. While I’m a wee bit sad that we may never see another Killzone title, I’m happy that I got to experience the games when I did, and I’m thankful for the friends and memories I made.
Overwatch
This may be another cheating title as Overwatch is not truly gone, it has just evolved into another form, Overwatch 2. I know a lot of people were wary when this was finally brought out, and even when it was announced. Overwatch 2 is still having rough patches, but it is on its way to being another hit just like the original Overwatch was. Will this new version help revive the league scene and boost competitive play again? I have no idea, but it’s too late to say sike and go back now.
Crowfall
Crowfall, a crowdfunded MMO that went live last year, was shut down that same year for a rationale that you rarely see in today’s gaming world. “To save the game,” developers Monumental explained. The game had to be taken offline, according to Monumental, “so it could concentrate on development rather than live operations.” In order to have a future, they basically need to stop the game before they can’t fix it.
I wish more video game companies had the same mentality. There is no indication of when or if Crowfall will return. Only that they will “share the strategy with the community as it shapes out” was expressed by the developers.
Blessed Unleashed
Interestingly Blessed Unleashed was a 2020 reboot of the 2018 game Blessed Online. Blessed Online was set in a seamless fantasy world. The main plot centers on a conflict that has been raging for 10 years between the nations of Hieron and Unión. Climate zones divide the game world into different sections. Race determines which group a character will side with, and players can choose their character’s race and class. Players could take part in PvP castle sieges to increase the strength of their group. Siege victories result in new quests and resources. Role-playing situations based on ethnicity and faction were also available for gamers to advance their characters.
I don’t know how much the reboot differs from the original game so I can’t speak on a game-based reason why it closed. I think this may also be a game I have installed and maybe played once. The official Bandi Namco Website stated, “Unfortunately, this time is coming to an end. Our agreement with Round8 has come to an end, and we will not be able to continue supporting the game. This was a hard decision for us, but we will be closing the servers at the end of November.”
Elyon
Elyon, formerly known as Ascent: Infinite Realm, was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Bluehole Studios and released by Kakao Games. The game was made free-to-play before it launched and went on sale in Korea in December 2020. In October 2021, Elyon received its western release in North America and Europe.
Sadly, less than a year after its release, on December 7th, 2022, the game’s makers were compelled to shut it down due to a poor player retention rate and declining popularity. Elyon once boasted an all-time high of 15400 gamers, but only had 14 people that were actively playing during its final month.
Babylon’s Fall
This one might be cheating, as it’s set to shut down this year, but it was announced last year that it would be shutting down. Let’s just say that if I do this next year, it will probably be on next year’s list as well. Babylon’s Fall lasted a mere 194 days before Platinum Games had seen enough and threw in the towel. Amid “mostly negative” user reviews on Steam and a 46 aggregate score on Metacritic, the game really struggled to find its footing.
The game only reached a concurrent player count of less than 1,200 on release day and declined sharply afterward. Did you ever play this game? What are your thoughts on why it didn’t do well?
Stadia
There were about 278 games available on Stadia. To be honest, I didn’t go through every single game on that list, but a quick glance revealed a lot of third-party, non-stadium exclusive games. There were a lot of Ubisoft games on there as well as some really cool indie games like Chicken Police: Paint it Red.
In July, Google denied rumors that Stadia was closing. In September, Google announced that its game streaming platform Stadia is closing. However, Baron Jones brought up a very good point “How else is Google supposed to advertise?” With that in mind, it’s easy to see why Google invested in Stadia every few months. It brought Google’s name into the news cycle in any way possible. They never cared. I shouldn’t say that the Stadia team cared; they obviously did, but Google itself didn’t care, or so it seemed.
I’m actually surprised at how many newer games that were released less than 5 years ago have gone offline. Although there were some “long-lived” games lasting 10+ years or being launch titles for last-gen, it did feel like more than half of the games in all the lists were fairly “young.” Did I miss any games that needed to be mentioned? What games did you like and will miss? Stay tuned for more content from Lv1 Gaming. Leave some comments as well about the games shut down in 2022.
<—Random Article | Random Article—>
Leave some suggestions on what we can do better or change. Are you interested in writing, editing or just being a part of Lv1 Gaming? CONTACT US HERE!
Be a Superhero and Like, Share and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Go Tomb Raiding and give us a follow on Twitch as well! Twitch.tv/Lv1_gaming Would you kindly follow us on Twitter at @Lv1Gaming Also follow our Facebook page!
