Some Video Games Fail
I was somewhat surprised to learn this week that the action role-playing video game Magic: Legends was to be closed. Not so much by the actual decision itself but at the speed at which it has been made. Technically the game has not left beta testing and will now never be formally launched. The servers will remain accessible until October 31st 2021 and players who have spent money on microtransactions via the Epic Store or Arc will be refunded. Developer’s Cryptic and publishers Perfect World Entertainment have naturally not given any specific details regarding the reasons behind the games closure. The accompanying press release is suitably vague. “We learned several valuable lessons along the way, and we will use them to improve Cryptic’s future development efforts”.
Magic: Legends went through several design changes during its development. It was originally conceived as a free-to-play, next generation, action MMORPG. However this was later downgraded to multiplayer action RPG. The version released for beta testing in March was unpolished and uninspired (according to player feedback) and then courted further controversy by having a somewhat egregious business model with an excess of store benefits. Despite being part of a much beloved franchise, the game just seemed to miss the mark and was seen as just another indifferent ARPG in an already saturated market. The entire situation put me in mind of Turbine’s Infinite Crisis. This was a game based upon an established intellectual property (DC universe) that was similarly closed after a lacklustre reception back in 2015, despite the resources that had been spent upon it.
Naturally, it is the human cost of this situation that is the saddest part of the story. The demise of Magic: Legends has consequently resulted in staff layoffs. In wider terms, this is a timely reminder that video games are consumer products, designed to make money. Obviously the powers that be (in this case PWE) looked at the development costs of Magic: Legends (including what it would take to improve the game) and then offset that against any projected revenue they thought they could make. They subsequently decided to cut their losses and move on to the next project. It’s not as if every aspect of the game’s development is a write off. Assets and code can be reused elsewhere. This was a business decision, pure and simple. Magic: Legends will now join Crucible and Anthem on the list of major video games that have failed. Because failure is an intrinsic part of business.
