On November 2, 1999, Microsoft and Turbine launched Asheron’s Call, a massively multiplayer online fantasy role-playing game that stood toe-to-toe with the likes of EverQuest and Ultima Online. On January 31, Asheron’s Call and its sequel are coming to an end.
Asheron’s Call was my first serious MMO, before I got my hands on EQ and after Ultima Online chewed me up and spat my hapless lumberjack arse out. I spent many a late night wandering its roads, killing Drudges by the bucketful.
It was a good game, but its time has come. The last content update went live in March of 2014, so the game’s been stagnant for two years. On top of that, Turbine is moving out of the MMO business, and while its spin-off company, Standing Stone Games, will continue to work on Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online, the Asheron’s Call licence belongs to Warner Bros., so both AC games must close.
The January 31 closure of Asheron’s Call and it’s once-dead sequel, Asheron’s Call 2, was announced today via the games’ forum.
It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the end of our support for Asheron’s Call and Asheron’s Call 2, and will close both services on January 31st, 2017.
This decision did not come easy, and we know this is disappointing for many of you. This game is a labour of love, and it’s not easy for us to bring it to an end.
We have had a phenomenally long run; one of the longest in the world of MMORPGs, and that in and of itself is a spectacular feat. We are proud of our legacy, and the entire Asheron’s Call team has been honored to adventure with you for nearly twenty years. We thank you very much for being a part of it.
It’s been an amazing run. You’ve done Asheron Realaidain proud.
While new account creation is being closed, anyone with an existing account is welcome to log in and wander about before the call is finally silenced.
Comments
6 responses to “Asheron’s Call Calls It Quits After 17 Years”
Goodbye AC, dark age of camelot you are next
I thought this had already happened, to be honest. 17 years is a long run for an MMO and AC was very competitive in the pre-WoW MMO world. They should be proud of what they accomplished.
A lot of those early MMO’s managed to get into a comfortable rhythm where they’d have 50k diehard players willing to pay a tenner a month, which was enough to keep the hamsters fed.
It really wouldnt take THAT much money to maintain those servers, they dont really need a huge amount of grunt given the age of the engines in play.
GG AC
I’m just hoping someone ensures it is preserved going forward.
Yet another MMO closure reminds of the cultural artifacts lost to IP shenanigans.
There really does need to be a requirement to make code available after game shut-downs TO ensure that preservation efforts aren’t hamstrung before they even start to try. As it is, I suspect no-one’s handing that server code over willingly.
Some of my greatest gaming memories where thanks to AC. The Patron and alliance system was amazing. My Patron was like an in game dad (I was 12) he found me in rags in one of the starter towns and promptly adopted this poor lost orphan. He taught me the basics, showed me some basic portal routes, took me on awesome adventures doing crazy quests and chilled with me at the “Subway”. After a while I surpassed him in level and he told me I had learned all I could from him that there was only one more test I had to pass. So off we went to complete the quest to become PK (player killer). I killed my Patron 5 times that day after which he bent the knee, I had become the Patron.
Thanks ChaosMatrix! RIP AC an amazing game