Colony building game Clockwork Empires is to be removed from sale on all platforms.
Developer Gaslamp Games revealed the news via a Steam Community post. The company says that since it ceased regular operations in 2016, it can no longer support Clockwork Empires. Gaslamp also cites PC gaming hardware and software changing since the game's release. For these reasons, it's removing the game from sale on Steam and other platforms "shortly". We're not sure exactly when it'll go, but presumably, it won't be long. Players can still download and play the game if they've already purchased it. If you've been on the fence, you'd better snap it up quickly before it vanishes. Gaslamp closes its statement by thanking players for supporting Clockwork Empires over the years.
Clockwork Empires was originally released for PC in October 2016. The game is described by its creator as "a colony building game set on a Steampunk frontier of survival, production, science, and cosmic horror". Players take on the role of a Colonial bureaucrat as they endeavor to build a frontier colony. The game mixes strategy with city-building and elements of Lovecraftian horror but appeared to be rushed out of Early Access due to the company's financial troubles. Clockwork Empires received mixed reviews when it was released, not least from us.
Gaslamp Games was a game development studio based in British Columbia. The studio's projects included Clockwork Empires as well as roguelike dungeon crawler Dungeons of Dredmor. The company "shut down regular operations" at the end of 2016, which is also when it was last active on social media. It's not clear exactly what caused the end of Gaslamp Games. The company didn't announce its shutdown at the time and hasn't talked about its cessation of operations since. Unfortunately, it looks like fans will have to put up with this mystery never being solved.
Are you sad about Clockwork Empires being removed from sale? What do you think this says regarding game preservation? Let us know in the comments below!
