Here’s a hat trick that no MMORPG ever wants to earn: being closed three times in a row. For Elite Lord of Alliance (ELOA), this is the exact situation it now finds itself in as Playwith Interactive announced that it is going to sunset the latest incarnation of the fantasy title (called Warlords Awakening) later this month.
“We inform you that Warlords Awakening’s service will cease on June 28th,” the company said. “On the other hand, [as of] May 31st, the game will become free-to-play so that you can enjoy its content until the game is no longer available. Warlords Awakening will remove all in-game purchase. This is to ensure that we can achieve more users to make the game more enjoyable for everyone involved. By discounting the cash shop items, removing in-game purchases and granting more daily rewards, we hope that everyone that wanted to play Warlords Awakening will have the last chance.”
The history behind this MMO is confusing, so here’s the short version. ELOA was published by Webzen in the east while another company, Game Release Entertainment, grabbed an illegal CBT copy and rushed to release it in the west under the name Inspirit Online. Webzen challenged it as an illegal server and got it taken down, after which it brought ELOA to the west from 2015 through 2016. ELOA then was closed in September 2016 and subsequently resurrected as Warlords Awakening under Playwith in summer 2018.
