It looks as if some corporate reorganization is going on over at Shroud of the Avatar studio Portalarium, as Richard Garriott’s CEO title has apparently been dissolved.
“As we have adjusted our direction and team to focus on Episode 2 we have decided to eliminate any titles and positions with the word Officer, including my own which was CEO,” Garriott posted last night. “This leaves me to focus on my true role as Creative Director while Chris Spears and Starr Long can focus on the running of the team.”
It’s not entirely clear what impact the title shifts will have on the game; we do know the studio suffered a round of layoffs earlier this year. Release 59 is expected later this month, followed by November and December updates, with seasonal content, polishing, newbie experience enhancements, and the full player-made dungeon system. As Long notes,
“Q4 is just a warmup for 2019 which will be an amazing year for Shroud of the Avatar players! Crafting specializations (choose your effects!), Grandmaster Craftsman only effects, more loot improvements, more expansions to the fishing system, better boss fights and more! 2019 will of course culminate with Episode 2 which will have a new story, new lands, a revamp of the Quest and Journal system, a Theater System, Treasure Hunting with treasure maps that show up as loot, Item Affinity, Taming system expansions, Customizable NPCs, and expanded permissions for containers and doors!”
That, of course, hasn’t stopped Reddit from predicting certain doom, as Steam Charts shows the game not having grown significantly over the last few years on the platform.
#Halloween is coming closer and the citizens of Novia feel a mysterious, dire aura in the air. What could cause these ill vibes? Find out in our RP-Event "Nightmares of Novia": https://t.co/O0IngAcK6X#LBSoA #communityevent pic.twitter.com/EhT2KdX9Sf
— Shroud of the Avatar (@ShroudofAvatar) October 11, 2018
