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Why Robin Makes Batman Better Auran has just fired out a new press release regarding the Dec 14 Age of the Chosen update for its MMO Fury. According to release, the 1v1 mode introduced with the update has proved the most popular.
We asked online producer Paul White for some additional info on what Auran has planned for Fury going forward:
At the moment we are tweaking following the Age of the Chosen update (some fixes went in on Tuesday, more next week) and also working on an improved tutorial (existing tutorial is boring and too text heavy) and additional features like crafting and gametypes.
Crafting? Looks like Fury may be borrowing ideas from its more PvE-orientated competitors. Before this can happen however, Auran wants to focus on making the game as solid as possible:
Our first priority is to ensure the game is stable and fun and then add more content and features in. Whilst I cannot give you an exact date when each of these things will be available I would expect them to start appearing early next year.
Despite the disappointing news surrounding Auran from last week, the company is still breathing.
The release, which can find after the jump, doesn’t contain much more than this. It does mention that the game saw “record numbers” of new players when the Age of Chosen update went live, but Auran has not specified exact figures.
The fallout from Brisbane game developer Auran’s recent collapse will continue to drift in the wind like nuclear ash for months. What stories we’ll hear, positive and negative, are yet to be told. I honestly thought it’d be in the opening weeks of 2008 we’d hear the first of the tales.
But, it’s been barely four days since the company went under and the first thing to come out is an eBay auction. Two almost pristine copies of Fury, taken from the Brisbane warehouse before everyone was kicked out, are up for grabs. According to the seller (who says they’re ex-Auran), the boxes are the last two ever made.
Anyway, the current bid is $26, and if the deal needs to be sweetened, a Fury mouse mat is included.
If you’re curious, there’s a Q&A up on the page:
Amid the sad news of Auran’s demise last week, the Age of the Chosen update for the company’s MMO Fury did go live as promised, and with it the all-access, free-to-play mode.
If you have yet to try Fury, I guess there’s really no reason not to now. The official Fury website has details on Age of the Chosen, as well as the new free play mode.
If somehow you managed to miss all the Auran-infused drama of the last seven days, here’s a recap:
Tony Hilliam: The Facts About Auran’s Closure Auran Closes Up Shop Fury Goes Completely Free With Dec 14 Content Update Auran To Announce New Business Model For Fury, Company Restructure Tony Hilliam: Rumours of Auran’s Demise “Greatly Exaggerated” Auran To Cut Staff This Friday
Tony Hilliam, CEO of Brisbane-based developer Auran, has issued a statement regarding Auran’s closure earlier today.
In it, Hilliam confirms that all Auran staff were today let go, and that staff will be paid their entitlements, supporting our anonymous source.
He then goes on to reiterate the recent changes to Fury, including the Age of the Chosen content update and the new free-to-play mode, and his belief that the game will eventually become “successful”.
As you can see, this new statement stands in stark contrast to Hilliam’s comments from last week, where he reassured us that things were fine.
Hilliam also mentioned to Kotaku AU that ex-employees will be compensated under GEERS (General Employee Entitlement and Redundancy Scheme).
Full statement after the jump.
A post over at blog Doolwind sends word that Auran Developments has closed its doors, and is currently in the process of liquidating.
From the post:
Just spoke to some ex-colleagues of mine from Auran. Auran Developments (who hires the dev team) has just gone into liquidation and has shut up shop. The guys don’t get paid this week, they don’t get their holidays paid out, and they don’t get redundancy packages.
Last week, Angry Gamer caught wind that something was up. Auran CEO Tony Hilliam however quickly made an appearance to dispel the fear, uncertainty and doubt. Agile dev teams, outsourcing, and more were mentioned, but nothing of this magnitude was hinted at.
It was then revealed this week that Fury is to become completely free to play, as of the Age of the Chosen update.
I actually heard this news from a source a couple of days ago, but after being reassured by Hilliam that the rumour was “categorically false” decided not to run it.
More news as we get it.
Update 1: According to an anonymous source, Doolwind’s statement that ex-Auran staff will not receive entitlements is incorrect. The source says that when the liquidation has been sorted out, staff will be compensated.
Update 2: Tony Hilliam, former CEO of Auran, has made an official statement regarding the closure.
Auran Is Dead [Doolwind, thanks Alistair]
Come the Age of the Chosen update on December 14, players of Auran’s hack’n'slash MMO Fury will be given the option to play the game minus the monthly subscription fee.
According to the release, the free mode, called “Chosen”, will give players access to all game types, weapons and abilities. Chosen however will gain gold and essence at a reduced rate and will be unable to swap goods with other players.
If a player is willing to spend a bit of cash, an upgraded “Hero” mode is available that will increase the gold and essence gather rate. Players are also free to buy gold from Auran directly.
This news however is foreshadowed by this grim statement from Auran CEO Tony Hilliam, included with the release Kotaku Australia received from the company:
We will then have some bad news to follow (unless a miracle occurs), but there will be a very positive end to the week.
A mixed message if I ever saw one, especially considering the events of earlier today.
If you’d like to shape your own opinion of events (which I encourage you to do) check out the full release after the jump.
Tony Hilliam, speaking exclusively to Kotaku Australia, has stated that the company will tomorrow announce further restructuring plans for Auran, along with a new business model for its MMO Fury.
Hilliam has said that he will reveal all to us tomorrow, so make sure you’re here bright and early to hear the good (and not so good) news.
Auran has had its fair share of our attention lately. First there was the Angry Gamer story that boldy stated that the company had “run out of steam“. Then, Tony Hilliam stepped forward to nip the rumour in the bud.
I should mention that this was off the back of a darker rumour Kotaku Australia caught wind of today, and one I won’t mention here, as Hilliam assured me that is was “categorically false”. What I can say is that regardless of the tale Auran will tell tomorrow, you’ll read it here first.
Auran CEO Tony Hilliam has made a statement regarding the rumour that the company today planned to let a number of staff go, mainly in its QA department.
While Hilliam confirms that the Fury team will be reduced, it’s more to do with creating an “agile” group of developers better able to address the needs of the game. Contrary to what the original Angry Gamer story led many to believe, the company is not going bust:
As I explained to the staff yesterday, whilst FURY has started off slower than expected, I still see a bright and long future ahead. However, that future will not include the full 60 man development team who have worked on FURY for the past year. The future will focus on a smaller, more agile core team of Fury developers. These are people who are incredibly passionate about the game and work until 4 in the morning to ensure they get things done.
It’s actually fairly normal for a dev team to shrink after the release of a title. The difference here is that Auran is going to the trouble of finding ex-employees other opportunities instead of just casting them into the sea of joblessness.
The statement goes on to mention that Auran plans to outsource at least some of the content development for Fury to China, where it says it has had a lot of success already.
Finally, Hilliam says that Tantalus (who we’re stilling waiting to hear from) is right now opening a new studio near Auran’s base of operations up in Brisbane. The new studio, which will focus on Wii and DS titles, will employ a few ex-Auran folk.
Tony’s full statement can be found after the jump.
Angry Gamer is reporting that Brisbane-based developer Auran will be making a number of staff redundant tomorrow, as the company faces financial difficulties – no doubt a result of the lacklustre reception its MMO Fury received.
From the Angry Gamer story:
“Fury was a financial disaster, it lost Auran a lot of money”, one anonymous source told Angry Gamer.
The story goes on to say that Auran’s QA department will feel the brunt of the cuts, and that Tantalus will take on “up to 20″ former employees.
I’ve sent an email off to Auran and Tantalus seeking more info. If true, it’s a sad development, regardless of how you may feel about Fury.
Personally, I wish Auran all the best. Let’s hope it doesn’t become Australia’s Interplay.
Auran out of steam [Angry Gamer]
Today’s the final day we’ll be taking questions for our Q&A with Auran, the Australian developer behind the MMO Fury. If you’d like your query to be considered, head over to the original post, and submit it via the comments system. Feel free to suggest improvements, changes or new features. Auran wants to know!
As a bonus, the two best questions will snag themselves signed copies of the game, so don’t dilly dally.
Ask Auran Anything You Want About Fury [Kotaku AU]
