On April 25th (KST), XLGAMES PD for ArcheAge posted this announcement addressed to the domestic KR player base. Here are two signs that things aren’t exactly healthy for the game in KR (besides what the PD himself wrote regarding the poor state of the game since taking it over).
First of all, this announcement has been viewed less than 2500 times (as of this post).
Second of all, it has garnered a “whopping” 4 comments (including the first one that states bluntly that the domestic KR service is also expected to close soon). At least when Krafton announced they were ending the development of TERA PC and terminating the service for all remaining regions, their official KR Inven board was ablaze with player comments. The fact that there is this level of apathy on the domestic front, is beyond telling. This PD is likely tasked with trying to keep the game alive domestically until ArcheAge 2 gets closer to a beta test phase. That itself is looking like a stretch (given the game is now pretty much not going to launch sooner than 2026).
To put it simply, it highlights one of the core issues with ArcheAge. It’s unable to attract actual new players (so what is left is churn of the remaining players which in actuality, is a very small number of people that continues to decrease in size as time passes). The Russian server seems to be more active, but that seems to be the case for a large number of other games in that region (MMO’s being a true escape for many there).
JP and CHN are likely next on the chopping block as far regional closures go since they weren’t even mentioned as a focus (only RU and KR). Yet, it is clearly academic to me that OG ArcheAge is just a matter of when (not if) it all gets sunset because all of the reorgs, restructuring, and lack of resources being allotted to it. Those aspects are telegraphing this eventual finality (the higher up executives only care about the bottom-line of what AA2 will initially bring in, and not the actual longevity). That is the modern-day gaming industry in a nutshell (and why I decided to move away from gaming as a hobby). It’s therefore sad to see some who are trying to re-establish themselves on the RU server versus just moving on/letting go (I guess some folks are just gluttons for punishment).
