Last year, we did a Daily Grind asking about interest in a My Little Pony MMORPG, and y’all reminded me that we actually have one: Legends of Equestria, a fan-run MMO that has managed to exist for many long years (over 12 years!) in spite of Hasbro being Hasbro. But we have some sad news about the game this week, as apparently it’s having to shut down one of its servers as funding has dwindled.
“The Legends of Equestria team have always been steadfast that we wouldn’t take any player money; LoE would always be free, and we’d support the cost of running the game through passive advertisements on our website and forum,” the volunteer devs write. “This has worked excellently for twelve whole years, but recent days have seen that funding start to run dry. It’s prompted some tough discussions within the team, and we’ve come to a difficult conclusion: in order to prolong the lifespan of the game as a whole, it’s time to sunset the Europonia server. We love everyone who has chosen, or continues to choose, that region as their play location; unfortunately, though, the player count there simply isn’t enough to justify the expense, and what it would mean for the longevity of the project as a whole. As such, the Europonia server will close in two weeks, on April 30th, 2024.”
According to the missive, the Amareicas server will stay up, and it sounds like Europonia ponies will be playable on Amareicas too, albeit with a higher ping. The devs say their goal is to “keep Equestria alive for as long as [they] can” and that this isn’t the end of the game.
“Discussions are ongoing as to what the next steps are for Equestria, and for our development team; we’ll share all of that information when the time is right. I know this is sad news, but please don’t feel too disheartened; we still have plenty in the works, and are excited to show you everything new that we’re working on. There’s plenty more in store from us lot, so we hope to see you in Equestria – and beyond – very soon!”
Volunteer MMO dev isn’t always easy, and we’ve had to make some hard decisions over the last twelve years, but here’s one of the hardest: to prolong the lifespan of LoE, the Europonia server will be closing April 30th. You can find all the details here: https://t.co/oWFebph8PR pic.twitter.com/8khL6cl10Q
— Legends of Equestria (@LegendsofEq) April 15, 2024
