Worlds Adrift Is Getting Shut Down

Worlds Adrift launched in 2017 with a fairly compelling premise: it was an MMORPG where you would build and upgrade an airship in a fantasy world, sort of like a much, much, MUCH more accessable version of EVE Online. It accrued a dedicated and passionate fanbase, but not a terribly big one, which is why the developer behind it, Bossa Studios, has announced that they’re going to be shutting down the game.

At Bossa Studios we love taking risks and making stuff that no one dares to do in order to create great original experiences for players. Worlds Adrift was an ambitious undertaking for us: a community crafted MMO built on freedom and player agency with multiplayer physics, set in a huge world. We are proud of what we achieved with the game since development began five years ago out of a humble game jam.

We are immensely grateful for every Traveller that’s come to experience this community crafted world. However, Worlds Adrift just hasn’t reached the level of popularity it needs to continue. The challenges that came with our ambitious project meant that all our work went into making the game work rather than making it the experience we wanted it to be. As a result we failed at making a game that could capture the imaginations of millions. Creating an MMO like Worlds Adrift is a huge financial commitment and unfortunately the game is just no longer commercially viable.

The studio itself isn’t shutting down, thank goodness (it’s weird we live in a time when we have to make that distinction), but the game will be shut down in a couple months, with Frontier Captains getting free copies of Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread as thanks, and have their names saved on the game’s website as thanks. Plus, there will be several events before the game shuts down, which will culminate in the always-popular end-of-the-world event.

Sad to see it go, but at least the studio itself is still going to be around to make cool new experiences in the future.