Crowfall - Column: Why Release Needs to Happen in Summer 2017

SBFord · August 2015

Kyleran · August 2015

I think the more important question is will it ever release, and if so, what sort of shape will it be in really? I'm not convinced a viable MMORPG or even MMO can be delivered if the funding isn't there, but time will tell.

Wizardry · August 2015

I agree totally that several months after the Wow release would be best because by then those players would soon be getting bored again. Right now would generate a lot of sales but imo the game would die out once the Wow expak releases so for longevity now would be a bad move. Overall it says a lot about gaming right now,it says more about players jumping on ANY new hyped game or expansion then moving on once again to the next one.It says there is no longer any longevity but instead fast cash grabs then games go into maintenance mode or very little happens afterwards.

Nanfoodle · August 2015

I dont think WoW factors into this at all. The real battle will be CF vs CU. Im not sure there is room for both when they are shooting for the same niche crowd.

tarzan525 · August 2015

I'll be honest if Legion launches in October, Crowfall's estimated release of December-January is probably fine. WoW updates now a days aren't as big as they used to be. They used to be monumental milestones that drew more and more people into the game. Now, most updates draw new people in, but only for a few months (after about 2 months the hype of the new update dies). The biggest factor is the type of game Crowfall wants to be. It wants to be DIFFERENT from WoW. They can maybe even use the drowned hype of Legion to boost their fanbase. "Didn't like WoW? Like PvP? Come check out Crowfall for a totally new experience!" Waiting 6-9 months JUST because of WoW, is absurd. WoW is always a sleeping giant in the background, just hiding from it isn't gonna progress you further. Crowfall's community also isn't WoWs. WoW has a fanbase and has acquired it over about a decade and a half. Crowfall's fanbase is fans of old school MMOs and new fans looking for somethign different, so WoWs release won't impact the vast majority of the Crowfall community. Unlike most MMO players, most people who are playing Crowfall, DONT like WoW. Sure there are a handful, but most people already backed Crowfall, therefore have the game on hold, and if there is one thing I've learned, doesn't matter how much you want to play another game, if you ordered a new game for day one, you are probably gonna drop everything to play it for at least the first 2-3 days and even continue after possibly. Especially an MMO.

Krimzin · August 2015

When.. If... Im not a fan of Crowd Funding.. Just like other titles that showed promise.. Crowfall could be gone tomorrow.

Caffynated · August 2015

Planning the release of a PvP sandbox around a WoW expansion is like planning the release of a death metal album around a new Taylor Swift single.

Nanfoodle · August 2015

SedrynTyros said:

Nanfoodle said:

I dont think WoW factors into this at all. The real battle will be CF vs CU. Im not sure there is room for both when they are shooting for the same niche crowd.

You make an excellent point, but from what I've seen Camelot Unchained may be different enough from Crowfall to have its own following.

Open world PvP with different types of loot rules IMO is not different enough. They both have a voxel type game. Both open world PvP. Both have battlegrounds. I really think its going to be timing and who has the better game. We will see.

ROFLcopter13 · August 2015

I too agree summer 2017 would be best as well for reasons already mentioned.

Herithius · August 2015

Any time that is not the fall is a good time. Fall is the perennial season of new releases so it's easy to get lost in the shuffle.

KenFisher · August 2015

2017 might be realistic, but 2 years is an awful long time to hold hype, especially if a leader establishes itself between now and then. I compare the sandbox market to building a country music radio station in Miami. If Miami doesn't have a good one, then a new station could come along and do well, even if country music isn't popular there. But if five new country stations pop-up at all around the same time, there probably isn't enough market to support them all. I don't see "Build a Sandbox" as an automatic win regardless of financing, monetization, or even feature set. Unless it generates revenue to keep the game operational and fresh, it goes stale and becomes forgotten.

Wicasa · August 2015

WoW's next xpansion will probably come out around the time the movie is released, the movie will be so awesome Hearth and Heroes players will Flock to WoW, virtual reality WoW because the graphics will alow high frame rate, and WoW will dominate for another 10 years... Mario and Zelda going strong after 30 years, WoW movie 2&3, this is just the beginning friends...

jdlamson75 · August 2015

Artcraft's developers are gathering funding from other areas as well as the crowdfunding. Their central belief to these outside monies is basically "Yes, we'll take your investment, but we're not changing our game to get said money". Crowdfunding isn't Crowfall's only financing.

Allein · August 2015

Maybe I'm missing something, but they are shooting for: "The core module is estimated to be delivered by Winter 2016. First release (with partial functionality) will begin alpha testing in late Summer 2015." Why this site doesn't have Q4 2016 listed as the release window is unknown to me. Can't remember if they are going to include everything that was funded during/post KS during the initial "release" but I believe so. The "Core" includes a decent amount as is either way. While gamers can obviously enjoy multiple genres and types of games, WoW and it's next expansion probably have very little to no significance when it comes to CF. Highly doubt anyone is or will be on the fence as to what to play if both were released relatively close to one another. Despite WoW's numbers, it is pretty much a non factor now. Just a matter of time for it to join the ranks of the other mmos out there maintaining X number of folks that won't leave until the servers close down and that won't take a 2nd look at other games regardless of what they have to offer. May be correct that many CF players will either pre-purchase (such as the current 21k backers) or at launch. But they aren't going for WoW numbers or even GW2/ESO/SWTOR numbers. Doubt they would have issue with the game growing slowly over time (EVE) or maintaining a decent number post launch. Edit: There a way to have breaks in the wall of text?

Slapshot1188 · August 2015

Nanfoodle said:

I dont think WoW factors into this at all. The real battle will be CF vs CU. Im not sure there is room for both when they are shooting for the same niche crowd.

I'd also add Albion Online to that group. I think they are all similar, but all have enough differences to be unique. Personally I'm hoping that at least 2 of them pan out and are fun.

JDis25 · August 2015

Slapshot1188 said:

Nanfoodle said:

I dont think WoW factors into this at all. The real battle will be CF vs CU. Im not sure there is room for both when they are shooting for the same niche crowd.

I'd also add Albion Online to that group. I think they are all similar, but all have enough differences to be unique. Personally I'm hoping that at least 2 of them pan out and are fun.

I think Albion is making big changes that will dramatically improve the game if they stick to their word. I will be playing it for sure, I need a proper sandboxy type fantasy mmo

reeereee · August 2015

Remember when FFXIV 1.0 released a buggy unfinished mess early to get ahead of Cataclysm only to find out Cataclysm was terrible and they would have been far more successful releasing after Cata? (not that anything could have saved FFXIV 1.0)

MMO games are fickle and unforgiving and you only get one chance to make a first impression. Releasing a game that isn't loaded down with bugs and has plenty of content is far far far more important than when you launch it.

Ok, maybe it's not good to launch directly on top of a WoW expansion but trends indicate there will be millions of gamers looking for a new MMO 3 months after Legion. Also WoW still has plenty of PvPers so saying Crowfall and WoW don't compete at all is misleading.

Realizer · August 2015

Sorry but Legion is going to launch by Feb. 2016, WoW is now on a new schedule for one expansion per year. Legion will drop before February according to most speculation, then Blizzard will start working on the next one, which will come out 12-14 months later. So the whole 2017 thing doesn't quite work. I have a founders pack for both Camelot Unchained, and Crowfall. You can expect their launches to be competitive with each other, not with what WoW is doing.

Fact is both of these games are Niche markets and the PvE crowd has Blade&Soul and other MMO's also dropping this year. In a nutshell you can expect December to be crowded with MMO xpacs and launches. B&S, GW2:HoT, WoW:Legion, Albion Online, and The Division; will all launch this Winter. Population will be spread out pretty thin and if I had to make an educated guess I'd say WoW might see a surge but it won't be massive, since all the other games are coming out.

I for one will be trying Blade and Soul first, and GW2:HoT second. Crowall, and CU will have lots of quality players there when they do launch respectively, but expecting them to try and catch over 1 million players with all the other games on the horizon seems a bit of a reach. Neither one of those games expects to have over 1 million players at the moment, and I prefer it that way.

Mitara · August 2015

Gotta love marketing, there are as many opinions as there are people

A good question, how big is the PvP crowd?

Realizer · August 2015

I think it depends, you could go as far to say the entire League of legends player base is a part of the "pvp" crowd but it's probably a stretch. I consider myself a pvp guy but I enjoy dungeon, and raid type content too. That's why I fall back on GW2 and FFXIV. GW2 will never go away for me, and loads of my FFXIV friends plan on trying Camelot Unchained and Crowfall to see what they prefer. I think by 2017 I'll be playing 50% CU/CF, and 50% Star Citizen provided they turn out as advertised.

Lheiah · August 2015

I think Legion will coincide with the movie, then the next expansion will be back on schedule for a holiday season 2017 release. Personally I don't think Artcraft is even in the least concerned about what WoW does, their target audience is no where the same. Artcraft will be more concerned with what CU, Darkfall, and the like are doing. It's kinda funny and sad how you guys are playing this game up to the pve/casual crowd. I mean seriously, comparing Crowfall and WoW for similar audiences, your leading your readership down the trail of serious disappointment. I can almost guarantee whatever the experience will be in Crowfall, it will not be even close to the same experience one gets in WoW. They have said as much on several occasions, but people can't seem to get it through their heads, and you guys just come along and keep reinforcing that notion. lol Let's see where that hype is a month after launch, shall we?

Loke666 · August 2015

Well, it needs to release before the company uses up all the money, besides that they should take their time. Rushing a release have killed off more than one good game. I rather have a good game in 2019 then a buggy mess in 2017 after all.

st3v3b0 · August 2015

I don't believe Crowfall needs to worry about WoW. It has a completely different focus on gameplay and would likely have minimal impact on WoW's player base no matter if they released today, or a year from now. They just need to build the game as planned and get it out sooner than later as glitch free as possible.

iFruit · August 2015

What is this with an absurd 2017 release date? Who asked you to write this? KS reward clearly states delivery date for Dec 2016, so this article's sole purpose is to irritate backers >_<

Lobotomist · August 2015

Such delay would kill the game

Dullahan · August 2015

Naturally you don't want to release anything at the same time as anything else that can draw away your audience, but really WoW and Crowfall are not direct competitors. Crowfall is so different than WoW, its like saying you shouldn't announce a new sports car on the same day as another company is releasing their new compact sedan. Which is which is irrelevant, the point is they are so different very few people interested in Crowfall are going to go back to WoW for the 20th time instead.

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