WildStar developer Carbine Studios has had a run of bad luck the past few years - the studio was hit with layoffs back in 2016, and earlier this month the developer announced they would be shutting down.
Now the studio's sci-fi MMORPG, WildStar, is shutting down its service November 28, 2018. A statement released on WildStar's website today:
When Carbine first started working on what would become WildStar back in 2005, the team set out to make something special that presented a different kind of MMORPG experience. At launch, the Carbine team delivered a deep, engaging, and spectacularly fun game full of outlandish adventures on the most legendary planet in the universe. And it has been our great privilege to share those adventures with all of you over the last four years.Carbine Studios have disabled the ability to purchase anything with real money on both the game's official website and its in-game store. Any purchases made with real money since July 1 of this year, including pre-paid Signature Memberships, will receive real money refunds. Active players with unspent C.R.E.D.D. - which is essentially WildStar's version of WoW tokens - will receive NCoin in its place. Ncoin is WildStar publisher NCSOFT's premium currency, which can be used in games such as Blade & Soul and Aion.
WildStar's Steam users will get refunds too, so long as you have made a purchase on or after July 1, 2018. Refunds will be issued according to the payment method players used on Steam, so those who paid with a card will have funds go back into the bank account.
As one last hurrah, Carbine released an update today, granting all players Signature status, increasing in-game Omnibit drops, and more. Seasonal in-game events will also take place through September, October, and November up until the servers close for good.
You can check out the full details of WildStar's shutdown on the game's official site.
Quick Take
I remember being in Boston around the time WildStar released. Advertisements were everywhere. I also saw a lot of coverage all over the web for the game. It looked exciting, but I never got to try it out for myself. It's sad to see another MMORPG shutting down, but when you have giants like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV to compete with, you'll have to make something truly special.In 2015, Carbine re-released the game as WildStar: Reloaded, in what I assume was a last attempt at gaining a following. It stuck around for three more years, which is admirable, but it just couldn't keep up with the big boys.
