Ryzom Back On the Brink, Likely To Close

Ryzom, the little European MMO that survived a trip through the EU equivalent of bankruptcy last year, has once again gone into receivership. This time, German parent GameForge is on the brink of extinction and likely to take the game with it. That means that no current accounts will be billed and no new subscribers can join until things are sorted out. It emerged from this bleak place last December when French developer Nevrax filed, but it seems unlikely that someone picks it up a second time.

Hello, as much as I'd have preferred to speak about some upcoming projects, I bring you today news about the financial state of the game you're all so passionate about.

Ryzom is going to pass through a few uncertain days/weeks, a second time. Our efforts to move Ryzom forward didn't get the expected repercussions and today as I speak, while the game continues to run and to be supported, the company behind its development - Gameforge France SARL, located in Paris - is lacking the funds to keep going. For those who've known the Nevrax times and went through the transitory period in last December, the same legal procedure of "liquidation judiciaire" has been put in place yesterday. This means that while the appointed liquidator will do what it takes to close the company, potential buyers may show up to take over the game Ryzom. If nobody shows up, the servers will be shut down in less than 3 weeks at liquidator's request.

Meanwhile, what is going to change for you? Ryzom is still running and your characters remain. However the game development has been frozen and the billing system and Free Trials are undergoing the following changes:

• Paying subscribers will not be billed and will be able to continue playing for free.
• It's not possible to pay to subscribe to a full Ryzom account anymore.
• You will still be able to create a Free Trial account, but at the moment there will be no possibility to upgrade your account and go to mainland.
• The level cap on Silan is removed for the Free Trials in the meantime.

The original posts from GameForge are here.