Bossa Studios has announced it is closing down its MMO Worlds Adrift in July 2019. In a detailed post on the front page of the official website, the team insisted Bossa would continue as a developer and publisher of games, but Worlds Adrift was “no longer commercially viable”.
To mark the end of the game, an End of the World event will be live streamed on Twitch and feature an AMA with the team on a still-to-be-announced date. The Worlds Adrift Island Creator will remain live, but players will not be able to bring their creations into 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,” the post said. “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 post added. “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.”
Players who purchased Worlds Adrift on Steam between April 29th and May 29th 2019 will be eligible for a refund, as well as all in-game purchases made since the store launched in Update 29 will be refunded.
As a thank you to players, all cosmetic in-game shop items will be distributed, for free, to all players, and Worlds Adrift Founder Captains will secure a free copy of Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread. These early adopters will also “be immortalised on the game’s website, which will remain live as a tribute to the world we’ve built together”.
