Leaderboard: So, is RIFT next?

Gamigo, which just bought the studio behind Wizard101 and Pirate101, cleaned house yesterday, purging multiple MMORPGs that it acquired during its past acquisitions of Aeria Games and Trion Worlds. Defiance (both halves), Twin Saga, and Eden Eternal are all on the chopping block, slated for sunset at the end of April.

These were all tiny games, and Gamigo flat-out said that they weren’t paying their own rent in the stable, so perhaps that’s not unexpected. No, what seems to have worried more people is the fact that Gamigo urged players into Aura Kingdom, Grand Fantasia, Trove, and ArcheAge. RIFT wasn’t on that list.

Personally, I don’t think panic is warranted yet. Gamigo listed only two games per side (two from the Aeria batch, two from the Trion batch), and the studio has a whole lot more games than that in its catalogue, games that are not closing down and yet didn’t get coupons. My assumption is that Gamigo picked the two biggest Aeria and two biggest Trion games for coupons. I think MMO gamers think of it as being the flagship Trion acquisition, but based on Gamigo’s update cadence for all of these games, it’s seemed clear that the money is in Trove and ArcheAge.

So if I’m worried about RIFT, it’s because it hasn’t been getting much love for a few years, not because it didn’t get a coupon.

What do you think is going on? Are you worried about RIFT? Is RIFT destined to be the next victim of Gamigo’s purge? (You can choose more than one.)

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