EA Closes Dawngate for Good

Thanks to the commercial and professional success of MOBAs like League of Legends and DOTA 2, it's easy to think that it's the future of games: just like how the gaming industry used the success of WoW to justify creating a bajillion new MMORPGs.  Well, for every boom there is a bust, and while there may still be more MOBAs than you can shake a stick at, there'll be one less soon: EA's little known Dawngate.

Now, you're either confused for one of two reasons: either you didn't know this game existed (a forgivable crime, EA did very, very, VERY little advertising)  or you're surprised at the abruptness of the announcement.  Indeed, that's what makes this news so strange: not only did this news come completely out of left field, a very meaty new patch for the game was released just the other day.

Still, here's what developer Waystone's Matt Bromberg has to say on the matter:

"Today, I have the unenviable task of announcing that we've decided to stop development of Dawngate.

Dawngate has been in beta for almost 18 months, including a full open beta for the past six months. Through that time, we've taken a lot of feedback from players and delivered lots of new features and innovations. And although the game has grown, we're not seeing the progress we'd hoped for. This isn't the outcome we wanted, but beta testing is about learning and improving, and ultimately, about making difficult decisions about how to proceed."

As a result of this news, 90 days from now, Dawngate will be shut down, likely forever.  While it's certainly horrible news for invested fans, there is at least a silver lining: everything players bought will be refunded, so no one has to feel robbed as well as cheated.

Unfortunately, we don't have specifics as to why the game is being closed if I had to wager, it's simply from a lack of player interest.  MOBAs are a lot like MMO's in that they need to be constantly updated and patched, so if there aren't enough players to justify that attention, it's simply not a worthwhile venture for EA.  Still, theres no way to know for sure, and it's certainly heartbreaking news for the fans.