Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria becomes the highest-profile MMORPG Kickstarter to crash and burn

This week in MMO crowdfunding, Soulbound Studios, the team behind MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria, announced that the game was on indefinite hold and all staff had been laid off, making it by our count the highest-profile MMORPG Kickstarter to crash and burn to date. That also means the nearly $1.4M Kickstarter money from MMO players – not to mention other funds gamers had poured in since 2017 – just went up in smoke too. You probably aren’t entirely surprised, given the last few years of the game’s “stormy” development, but you can still be appalled.

In happier news, Swords ‘n Magic and Stuff racked up more Kickstarter funding, reaching The Archaeological Society stretch goal. It’s now just about doubled its ask and is set to end next week.

Meanwhile, Crowfall dropped another backer appreciation award, Ashes of Creation previewed its alpha, Shroud of the Avatar’s R76 went live, and Ship of Heroes began its “surprise” temporary open beta.

Read on for more on what’s been up with MMO crowdfunding over the last week, plus our roundup of all the crowdfunded MMOs we’re following!

Saga of Lucimia

https://youtu.be/V2wMdEJFbJs

Recent MMO crowdfunding news

Ashes of Creation shows off an hour’s worth of gameplay from alpha one - Earlier this week, Intrepid Studios had promised to deliver some gameplay from the alpha one build of Ashes of Creation, and deliver it did, with at least an hour of…

Kickstarted MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria halts development, lays off all employees - Since its splashy and successful Kickstarter run back in 2016 that raised $1.36 million from MMO gamers, Chronicles of Elyria developed a reputation for promising the stars, selling non-existent territory,…

Dual Universe showcases entries in its space station building contest - In my time spent within Landmark, and in other games where people are allowed to build their own homes or habitats, I've come to accept one universal constant: There are…

Star Citizen shows off a new weapon attachments UI and tours New Babbage - Inside Star Citizen is back once again with another look at features for alpha 3.9, this time providing a fly-through tour of the New Babbage landing zone and a new…

Here’s what you can do in Ship of Heroes’ surprise beta right now - Last week, Ship of Heroes' Heroic Games announced a "surprise" beta test round - open to the public - during the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, the team has posted a newsletter…

Elite Dangerous is bringing fleet carriers to beta in April and May, eyes full release in June - It's certainly felt like a long time coming, but Elite Dangerous will soon bring the much-anticipated fleet carrier spaceship type to the internet spaceship sandbox. For those eager to work…

Shroud of the Avatar extends an olive branch to Chronicles of Elyria’s community - With this week's announcement of the collapse of Chronicles of Elyria's studio and development, you can bet that there are a whole lot of fans feeling adrift and distraught (not…

OrbusVR is adding climbing and treasure hunts while bringing back escort quests - Since OrbusVR is a virtual reality game, there are certain limitations to jumping. After all, if you start jumping around in real life you would both face potential real-world injuries…

Ashes of Creation announces an early preview livestream of alpha one - Intrepid Studios is ready to show the world what it's got. On Friday, March 27th, at 2:00 p.m. EST, Ashes of Creation will be showing off an early preview of…

Shroud of the Avatar offers a preview of its upcoming Bunker C scene - While much of the most recent Avatar's Update from Shroud of the Avatar doesn't have too much different from the last one, there is one intriguing preview at the very…

Choose My Adventure: In which Albion Online decides to beat me up - OK, Albion Online. I get it. You're a tough guy. You see a soft, doughy person like me and decide to lull me into a sense of complacency, offering adventure…

Saga of Lucimia shows off over two hours of stage three alpha gameplay - If you've got time to kill (and most of us do) and are following the progress of Saga of Lucimia, then the developers have a treat in store for you…

Crowfall

We're saluting our #CrowfallGame backers with this "cheerful" Victory Salute emote, the #Crow Appreciation #Reward for May. https://t.co/SooeBS4x9O pic.twitter.com/lRVXTDr98J

— Crowfall (@CrowfallGame) March 25, 2020

Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching

3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful, dev halted in 2018.
AdventureQuest 3D (Artix Entertainment) – Raised 368k; beta began Oct 2016.
Albion Online (Sandbox) – Launched July 2017, hit Steam May 2018.
Antraxx (Team Antraxx) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ascent: The Space Game (Fluffy Kitten Studios) – Successful KS. Fully launched 2016.
Ashes of Creation (Intrepid Studios) – Successful KS. Alpha zero.
Book of Travels (Might and Delight) – Kickstarted successfully.
Broke Protocol (Cylinder) – Unsuccessful KS. In free early access.
Camelot Unchained (City State) – Kickstarter successful; open donations/packages.
Caribbean Conquest (Invenio) – First KS canceled, second ended unsuccessfully.
Codename Reality (Orode) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Contested Space (Zon)
Crowfall (ArtCraft) – Kickstarter win, open packages, Indiegogo crowdfunding ongoing.
Chronicles of Elyria (Soulbound) – Kickstarter. Abandoned March 2020.
City of Heroes Homecoming (Homecoming) – Monthly donation rounds.
City of Titans (Missing Worlds Media) – Successful KS; Issue 0 delayed into 2019.
Day of Dragons (Beawesome) – Kickstarter successful.
Descent Underground (Descendent Studios) – Successful KS.
Destiny’s Sword (2Dogs) – Kickstarter successful June 2019; demo avail now.
Divergence Online (Stained Glass Llama) – Abandoned in early access.
Dogma: Eternal Night (Prelude Games Factory): Kickstarter. Probably dead.
Dragon of Legends (Thrive Games) – Successful Kickstarter.
Dual Universe (Novaquark) – Kickstarter funded, donor platform. Backer alpha.
Eco (Strange Loop Games) – Funded, now in alpha.
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded. Abandoned, then not, then again.
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments) – Funded and fully launched.
Empyrion Online (Eleon) – Kickstarter canceled; launched on Steam early access.
Endless Trials (Fire Hurts) – Kickstarter canceled.
Epic Space (EpicSpace.net)
EverFeud (PSB) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ever, Jane (3 Turn Productions) – Now in open beta.
Fractured (Dynamight) – Kickstarter successful. Alpha 2.
Global Adventures (SubaGames) – Kickstarter funded.
Gloria Victis (Black Eye Games) – Open donations, no end date; in early access.
Greed Monger (Greed Monger) – Abandoned, now allegedly in refund process.
Grim Dawn (Crate Entertainment) – Funded and launched.
Guardians of Ember (Runewaker) – Funded and launched.
Guns of Icarus (Muse) – Funded and launched.
Hero’s Song (Pixelmage) – KS canceled; Indiegogo. Canceled w/ refunds.
Infinity: Battlescape (I-Novae Studios)
HEX (HEX Entertainment) – Funded and launched.
Legends of Aria (Citadel Studios) – Kickstarted as Shards Online. Early access.
Life is Feudal (Bitbox): Indiegogo ended. Currently in beta.
LUX (Chimera) – Kickstarter canceled.
Maestros of the Anthymn (String Theory) – Kickstarter canceled.
Maguss (Maguss) – Indiegogo successful; open beta.
Mekria (Infinity Online Studios) – Kickstarter canceled.
Midair (Archetype Studios) – Kickstarter successful.
Nebula Online (Mizar Games) Kickstarter canceled; launched in November.
Neo’s Land (NeoJac Entertainment) – Open donations, no end date.
Novus AEterno (Taitale Studios)
Oath (Ready-Up) – Kickstarter funded.
Occupy White Walls (Stikipixels) – Kickstarter ends April 21.
OrbusVR (Ad Alternum) – KS funded March 2017. In early access.
Overpower (Hydrant Games) – Kickstarter unfunded; heading to early access.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen (Visionary Realms) – Open donations. Pre-alpha.
Pantropy (Brain Stone GmbH): First Kickstarter canceled, second funded.
Past Fate (Icy North): Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Pathfinder Online (GoblinWorks) – Doom, mostly.
Path of Titans (Alderon) – Indiegogo.
Planet Nomads (Craneballs) – Kickstarted, early access launched sans multiplayer.
Playcraft (Bebop Games) – Kickstarter funded May 2019.
Pixel Starships (SavySoda)
Project Gorgon (Elder Game) – Kickstarted in three tries + Indiegogo. Early access.
Project Oasis World (POW) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Pumpkin Online (Monique) – Downgrading from MMORPG.
RAW (Killerwhale) – Kickstarter canceled by Kickstarter.
ROKH (Darewise) – Kickstarter canceled; in  early access but not active dev.
RUiN (Tarhead Studio) – Kickstarter successful.
Sacrament (Ferocity Unbound) – Kickstarter failed; Patreon ongoing.
Saga of Lucimia (Stormhaven) – Indiegogo. Intermittent pre-alphas.
Seed (Klang Games) – Kickstarter launching in 2020.
Shadow’s Kiss (Clockwork Throne) – Ongoing Patreon, Kickstarter funded.
Ship of Heroes (Heroic) – Kickstarter canceled, beta expected before 2020.
Shroud of the Avatar (Portalarium) – Soft launch July 2016. Launch March 2018.
Spycursion (Defun) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Squadron 42 (Cloud Imperium) – Beta delayed until at least 2020.
Star Citizen (Cloud Imperium) – Ongoing donations/packages. Backer alpha.
Starfighter Infinity (Ben Olding) – Kickstarter funded. Early access.
Temtem (Crema) – Kickstarter fully funded; now in early access.
The Exiled (Fairytale Distillery) – fka Das Tal; KS unsuccessful. Early access.
The Flower of Knighthood – Kickstarter canceled.
The Realm: Reawakened (Stephen Nichols) – Ongoing GoFundMe.
The Repopulation (Idea Fabrik) – Kickstarted twice by A&B. Back in alpha.
The Stomping Land (Alex Fundora) – Abandoned.
Trials of Ascension (Dragonfire) – Again! Kickstarter ends April 1st.
TUG (Nerd Kingdom) – Totally abandoned without a word. Now considered a scam.
Vigor Roads (NeuronHaze) – Kickstarter unsuccessful; early access planned for 2017.
War of Rights (Campfire Games) – Successful Kickstarter; in early access.
Zenith (Ramen) – Kickstarter successfully funded.

Ashes of Creation

Yes, some crowdfunded MMOs most definitely do succeed. But others crash and burn, and you need to hear about the whole spectrum of games that sought your money early in exchange for the promise of input and transparency. And that’s exactly what Make My MMO does every Saturday. Help us keep ’em accountable, would ya?