Astellia Online To Shut Down, No Word About F2P Astellia Royal's Fate (UPDATED: Royal's Gone Too)

Jason Winter
By Jason Winter, News Editor
Share:

Remember Astellia Online? That was a not-Free MMORPG released in January 2020 by developer Studio 8, a subsidiary of Barunson E&A. It met with mixed reviews -- literally, according to Steam -- dwindling to a triple-digit player base shortly after launch, and hasn't even risen above double digits since May. That sounds like a game that's ripe for a free-to-play transition or shutdown and, curiously, we have both.

The dev team announced the impending shutdown on the game's Steam community page today, just a day after players noticed that the ability to buy the game had been removed. The game service will go offline October 29, and if you're still playing, you can enjoy triple experience gain and drop rate starting on August 17.

What does that mean for Astellia Royal, the F2P "clone" of Astellia that launched late last year and that looked a lot like its base game? That game has also removed its "Play Game" button from its Steam page, but there's no announcement about any impending shutdown. In fact, the devs have an August login reward event going on until September 2.

That said, Royal is doing about as poorly, player-wise, on Steam as its counterpart, and isn't even getting the boost in revenue that comes from having a box price, so it wouldn't surprise us to see it also getting the axe soon. (Curiously, it's listed as having no viewer reviews despite launching in March.) We doubt that too many people will mourn the loss of either game, but we're certain that someone will, to which we'd say: Did you know there's a free trial of Final Fantasy XIV going on right now?

UPDATE, Aug. 12: Astellia Royal is indeed, predictably, shutting down as well. It will terminate service on October 29, as well.

Share:
Got a news tip? Contact us directly here!

About the Author

Jason Winter
Jason Winter, News Editor
Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.

Discussion (3)

merzhinhudour 1 year ago
Luckily there's Bless Unleashed which is way better and also free to play

Caye999 1 year ago
They just announced the shutdown for Royal too.

Cloak 1 year ago
If it goes F2P it might as well close cause F2P is were games go to eventually die.


Read Next

Restore Clark Kent's Memories In Fortnite's Latest Battle Pass Quests And Unlock His Set

Restore Clark Kent's Memories In Fortnite's Latest Battle Pass Quests And Unlock His Set

Fortnite's Alien Invasion continues, and it's time to bring back Superman.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 year ago

You May Enjoy

World Of Warcraft Classic Announces Return Of Level 55 Death Knight Character Creation Restriction

World Of Warcraft Classic Announces Return Of Level 55 Death Knight Character Creation Restriction

Open Death Knight creation just makes it too easy for people to start exploiting the game.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 week ago
Dress Like A Tonberry For Hatching-tide And Prep For FFXIV's 24 Hours Maintenance For NA Data Center Replacement

Dress Like A Tonberry For Hatching-tide And Prep For FFXIV's 24 Hours Maintenance For NA Data Center Replacement

Rolling through Eorzea passing out Chef's kisses... what could be better?

By Michael Byrne - 2 days ago
Mad World Is Looking For Partner Creators To Produce Content For The Game

Mad World Is Looking For Partner Creators To Produce Content For The Game

You can sign up and earn exclusive skins and titles in game, and other gifts.

By Troy Blackburn - 4 days ago
Co-Op Space Adventure, Void Crew, Announced For Release Later This Year

Co-Op Space Adventure, Void Crew, Announced For Release Later This Year

Team up with friends and fight the Hollow.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 6 days ago
Digital Extremes To Celebrate 10 Years Of Waframe With A Special Anniversary Livestream

Digital Extremes To Celebrate 10 Years Of Waframe With A Special Anniversary Livestream

Take a trip down memory lane and learn about what’s to come.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 5 days ago