Shadowbane: Breaking News: Wolfpack Closing

Dana

Wolfpack Studios - the developers of Shadowbane - is closing.

This according to sources at the development house who were recently informed that their jobs were being terminated. The last day for Wolfpack staff is May 15th.

Parent company UBISoft is said to instead be redirecting their company's focus to next-gen platforms.

At this time, there is no word on what this will mean for the future of Shadowbane itself. The game just hit its three-year anniversary and was recently offered free to all users.

In total, approximately 25 people at the Austin, TX studio have been left without work.

MMORPG.com will continue to bring you information as this story develops.

(Update 7:47PM EST: Sean Dahlberg, the Community Manager at Wolfpack, made the following post on his blog that confirms our original report. There have also been developer posts to a similar effect on the official Shadowbane forums.)

Trindras

This is a sad day indeed. There was a lot of potential in the game, but it was never realized. When they made Shadowbane free, it made me think that they were going to be making a sequal or spirital successor to it, but it appears that's not the case.

This likely means the end of Shadowbane as well, as I doubt Ubi will continue funding a game when they've laid off the staff.

Herithius

Very sad news. Wolfpack was by far my favorite team for what they were able to accomplish in SB. For years I had ran the hope they were working on another mmorpg.

These were developers who took the big chance of making a truly PvP world when no one else would. Granted it had flaws but overall I think they and the industry learned a lot from the venture and how to make the next even better.

Wonder if this means the total end of Wolfpack or if they will try to go to a new publisher.  In any case, even if WP is at an end they have such talented people Im sure they will find tons of work.

Blurr

I'm not really surprised or saddened by this news. (In my opinion) They took too long to design a game that was behind the times when it was released. While the game had some interesting ideas, it mainly catered to a minority of players, and just wasn't able to compete.

Definately not surprising since they all of a sudden decided to make their only product free for no apparent reason. It's hard not to expect something like this when the company just stops trying to make money from their product.

CaesarsGhost

My hat goes off to Wolfpack Studios.  Sorry to see you go.

Bahk

sad to see this.. played shadowbane when it first release for a couple months, does this mean shadowbane is done now too? err?

AshenTemper

Poncho,

You will find players like this in all MMOs. I have not played one yet where things like this do not occur. Obviously, due to mechanics and features, the tactics they use change but I have yet to find an MMO without "Griefers". You had a bad experience. I had bad experiences in a variety of games. I remember the first time I was "PKed" in Ultima Online. It sucked. But I continued playing.

You stopped playing Shadowbane and I can understand you doing so and not saying you should give it another chance. But there are two things you should realize: (1) All MMOs have these kinds of players and (2) If Shadowbane goes away (and that is an if, I do not know what will happen with it), where do you think those players will go next?

dorobu

That sucks. Now we'll have to deal with all the assholes from that game in other games.

Wardrop

Bummer.   I had hoped for a sequel on a more modern engine.

I have to admit this is the only game where I've had to study and plan my class. i wont be able to find as much diversity with the titles on the market since they are all cookiecutter mmos.

Were else can i go  after lvl 20 and hunt the smartest game on the planet exclusively if i so choose.

No where. Every other game has you grinding 60 lvls on mindless mobs that are always in the same damn area for ever that do the same attack every single time.

I only have what 70 years of real life time available and companies want me to burn 2-3 months doing mindless crap so i can get to the game i really want to play.

Thanks to wolfpack for breaking the mold and bring me an experience I've been craving since playing  Ultima online and factioning. Where i can watch my city  burn just as fast as i built it, sometimes faster then ive built it

Thank you.

And TY wolfpack for opening the doors and letting it go free to all.

 

Paks

Sad news indeed. I wish Liet and Ashen well.

/salute

Leppard

Ashen..does that mean you're going too?

Hersaint

Sad to see it happen.  I enjoyed the game very much, but it didnt keep pace with the new games that came out.  Loved the design of SB and hope someone picks up those ideas and runs with it.  Guess Ill venture into the Unknown like Roma Victor maybe.

Thanks and good luck Wolfpack.

Blurr

I find it kinda sad that you guys are touting the game as a place to put all the griefers so the rest of us don't have to put up with them.

That speaks volumes.

gharvi

What speaks volumes to me is the way some people are ready to roast marshmellows over others losing their jobs, simply because they dislike the idea of open PvP and mechanics in a video game.

Dyrtt

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Originally posted by gharvi
What speaks volumes to me is the way some people are ready to roast marshmellows over others losing their jobs, simply because they dislike the idea of open PvP and mechanics in a video game.

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I second that. I didn't care for Shadowbane either but I regret seeing it about to go. Even more so, I hate to see people lose their jobs. Heaven knows I've been in that position.

For some reason people seem to think that every game has to appeal to their personal tastes. If it doesn't then the game must suck. I think it boils down to a maturity issue. Oh, and if you are getting so worked up over hating a game that you celerate people you don't even know losing their jobs, then you should probably take a step back from the hobby for awhile. Take a break and get some fresh air or something. Keep in mind that we are talking about a game. Lets have some persective for the love of pete.

Laptusmee

 

dorobu

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Originally posted by Laptusmee
Poncho, what server do you play, son? All i have to do is call someone to make a character on your stupid server to grief you off the game.  [BEEP - mod]

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I think that makes my previous point pretty soundly.

It is sad that people lose their jobs, but that's just how it goes. I'm sure they will find good jobs at other gaming companies. They made a pretty good game and I can only imagine someone will pick them up.

gharvi

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Originally posted by dorobu

Originally posted by Laptusmee
Poncho, what server do you play, son? All i have to do is call someone to make a character on your stupid server to grief you off the game. [BEEP - mod]

I think that makes my previous point pretty soundly.

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until you read boards for any other MMO, then it's just another post. Which means those folks are already there. Or is there some Eden of discourse in MMO's where all treat one another with love care and respect that I missed?

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They made a pretty good game and I can only imagine someone will pick them up.

---

I like that for the optimism, and it just seems like a good point to emphasize.

Rattrap

Damn!!! Dont pull the plug on Shadowbane!!!

Dekron

Just a general tip; do not quote posts that will obviously get deleted or your post will be deleted as well.

Drevar

I never followed SB as I had zero desire to play in a full PvP world.

It might be of some comfort to those who did play and care about the dev team that being in Austin means that they now have opportunity to work with Bioware in thier new Austin studio which was specifically created to produce an MMORPG.

 

Drev

thebigc001

I'm really sorry to see Shadowbane go, it was pretty original in its approach.  I remember the beautiful city my guild built, how we grew in power and how it finally ended when a coalition of ALL of the other guilds got together and attacked.  The city finally fell, and the ruins stayed there as a reminder that no one is so powerful that they can survive alone.  This is the only game I played that really had that dynamic. I hated the griefers, I hated that once I got to 60 it was impossible to level, and if I tried to level my other characters they would probably be ganked by some ridiculously high level idiot who had no balls.  The game had potential, and I loved it enough that as soon as they made it free I reactivated my characters and made some new ones.  But I know that its time is short.

Fowl

I guess now this is a post i need to comment on too.

Played SB quite some time, quit, tested WOW, and returned to SB again. Nothing can match with the thrill of open PVP.

Cant really understand all the crybabys and carebears playing WOW and similar games. If you cant loose anything its not fun. So... Ashen & co i wish you good luck and i hope Ubi doesnt pull the plug on SB. You can be pretty proud of the game you created.

All the others... cry me a river!

 

RemyVorender

Thanks for a great year of Shadowbane Wolfpack. Good luck to you guys.

Steelarm011

Very sad to see it end like this. After playing a bit of SB I can safely say, even though it isnt filled like some of the other games out there, nothing really beats open PvP - and it really saddens me to see one of the last bastions of free for all PvP bite the dust. SB really isnt a bad game.

Falelornfale

its to bad, while not a huge fan of the game, it was one of the few that made PvP interesting.

I hope Wolfpacks employees find success where ever they end up, hopefully they can get back into the MMO side of things.