Update: It seems two more of Ubisoft's free to play games are also getting the axe.
Collectible card game Might and Magic: Duel of Champions and RTS EndWar Online are both shutting down as well. Both games will fully shut down on October 31st. They're also both following the same pattern as the other two games: the in-game cash shops are already shut down, and the forums will go down with the games on the 31st.
Update 2: We sent an e-mail to Ubisoft asking about the game closures and a representative from the company responded with the following statement.
We decided to close down a number of F2P titles that didn’t reach the same level of interest or ongoing engagement we observe with our other games. The decision to close down these games will not prevent us to continue working on games which fit the F2P business model. Blue Byte has created successful games such as The Settlers Online, Anno Online and Might & Magic Heroes Online. These games are still active and prove to have a strong and dedicated community.
The original article continues below.
It's not uncommon for free to play games to have a life expectancy, and it seems two more games have hit it. Developers have announced that both The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot and Ghost Recon Phantoms are shutting down.
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and entered its open beta on February 25, 2014, and got its full launch almost exactly a year later. In it, you would make a hero, build up a castle, and invade other player's castles in an attempt to steal their loot. The game will be shutting down on October 25th, giving players two more months to play the game. In an FAQ post about the shutdown, the developers note that they will be removing the ability to purchase in-game currency today, and they will not be offering refunds for people who bought them. They also note that the game has not been as successful as they were hoping, although they chose not to give the exact number of players left before the shutdown. Other notes include that the game's forums will be shutting down when the game does, that the staff has been moved to different projects, and that no petition will convince them to bring back The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot.
The second shutdown is Ghost Recon Phantoms, originally known as Ghost Recon Online, and was developed by Ubisoft Singapore. It entered open beta on August 15th, 2012, and got a full release on April 10th, 2014. It was only released on PCs, with a planned Nintendo Wii U version getting canceled. Ghost Recon Phantoms will still be playable until December 1st. There is an FAQ post about this game's shutdown as well, one that is almost exactly the same as the one for The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot. It contains similar notes, including that the cash shop will no longer be open as of today, that there will be no refunds, that the forums will close when the game does, that the staff has been moved, and that petitions will not save the game.
While it is unfortunate that the games are getting shut down, if they didn't have the crowd to make it worth keeping around then it makes sense. If you've played either game then you may want to hop in for one last hurrah before you can't anymore.
How do you feel about these? Played either game? Going to hop in for one last round? Do you think there should be refunds offered in these cases? How do we preserve these games for the future? Let us know in the comments!
