Welcome back to another edition of Whatever Happened To, our intermittent roundup on MMOs and multiplayer games that have somehow slipped off our radar and needed a check-in!
PixARK: This blocky mash-up of Minecraft and ARK: Survival Evolved was pubbed here by Snail Games back in 2018, peaking in early access with 14,000 concurrent players. That number has dwindled to a few hundred on Steam as of early 2023 (we don’t know how many play on console), though Snail Games is still updating the game with themed holiday events and content. And it’s not all cash-shop buyables, either; back in December, the game added a massive underwater building patch, while last summer saw new critters in the June patch. So this is one to judge on its content output rather than its weak social media presence.
Ship of Fools – We first covered Ship of Fools a year ago, and since then, the darn thing went and launched, and it’s kind of adorable for a roguelike with optional multiplayer. Technically the official Steam launch was back in November; the game is a “seafaring roguelite co-op game” where you travel dangerous seas, firing cannons, collecting loot, and trying not to “become fish food.” It’s a buy-to-play game for around $15 on Steam.
Justice Online – This MMO already exists as a launched product in China; it’s a wuxia MMO from NetEase that was supposed to be releasing for international audiences last quarter. Obviously, it didn’t, and there was apparently a dust-up with western influencers too. But then in January of this year, Nvidia posted a half-minute video using the game as a demo for 4K Nvidia DLSS 3 (calling the game just “Justice,” though it’s clearly the same game and source material). So we still don’t have an official announcement, but we have hope.
Spotted any other MMOs that have fallen off our collective radar? Drop us a tip and let us know!
