This is the second time Gameforge is running this 70% extra in less than two months time for TERA Thalers (virtual currency to purchase items from the in-game cash shop); the prior promotion was in December (which I noted in my posting about the upcoming closure of the Japanese service). Additionally, they just ran a major discount on various vouchers (character slot, rename scrolls, race change scrolls, etc). EME ran these type of sales on utility items often, but not Gameforge. So when you see this, it sticks out like a red flag.
I take this as a (not so good) sign of trying to meet their contractual agreement (which covers specific requirements including revenues). Gameforge also just recently made Swords of Legends Online (which I wasn’t impressed with) free to play which means that once easy cash flow is gone. I really think they believed they could use this to replace TERA as their stable revenue generator, but the population on that game just dropped into a chasm (18K peak CCU at launch to now just a couple of hundred).
During that time at the start of SOLO, they also ignored TERA in that process (auto-pilot events don’t count as actual engagement with the player base; all of this not helped by the lack of actual newly designed content from Bluehole). That’s a self-inflicted wound (rule of thumb: never treat your most loyal customer base like they are suddenly expendable). We’ve all seen this song and dance before though (it’s like these publishers never learn from past mistakes).
I guess the thing to watch for is the eventual shoe dropping for the SEA regional server (which Gameforge took over publishing after PLAYWITH announced they would be exiting as SEA publisher in November 2019). The last time I logged into to the SEA server was right after Gameforge took over NA after EME shutdown (so November 2020), and it was DEAD then (I can only imagine now). I know I’m not the only one being more or less realistic about the future of the game (not helped with how Krafton/Bluehole is handling the franchise). And with the leaked Taiwan server files (albeit up to patch v92.03), there will still be a way to experience it in a local fashion (or some may just host their own server to play with friends) should the entire IP end up going the way of Devilian in the future.
