It’s gone, gang, and I’m so sorry.
Following the disastrous silences and accusations that unfolded over October and November, Marvel announced that it had terminated its relationship with gaming studio Gazillion and canceled MMOARPG Marvel Heroes, which was then scheduled to sunset at the end of the year.
However, on Wednesday, Gazillion employees began reporting that they’d been sent a letter by company CEO Dave Dohrmann announcing the end of Gazillion, the loss of their jobs (and some of their benefits), and a rushed end to Marvel Heroes as the bank called in its debts. The letter said the game would be shut down on Friday following an announcement, causing panic among MMO players who thought they had a bit more time. But no announcement came, and the game stayed up through the weekend.
Now, players on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 report that the game has indeed gone fully offline as of this afternoon.
Gazillion, Marvel, and Disney did not respond to requests for comment last week, and it does not appear that players were told by any of the involved companies that the game would be sunsetting early – a sad end to what was once a great game and a terrible way to treat paying customers. Our hearts go out to the devs and the players.
It’s worth pointing out that players on Reddit have claimed they’ve been able to get full refunds on their Marvel Heroes Xbox One purchases from Microsoft, so that’s worth a try. MOP tipster Alex told us he has received a complete refund and was told by a Microsoft rep that the refunds will be given automatically “soon.” Other players are having differing levels of luck with PS4 customer service.
Massively OP’s MJ got a chance to stream the game over this weekend to give it a proper sendoff. We’re including the streams below.
With thanks to Boom and Alex.
