MMORPG wanted to be a “new Ultima Online”, fails with a bang – plans unusual comeback for 2022

Legends of Aria Roadmap

With Legends of Aria, developer Citadel Studios actually wanted to create a kind of successor to Ultima Online. There were many parallels. But the MMORPG flopped on Steam. The company has now been sold and the new owner is planning an unusual comeback. A new Legends of Aria should come in 2022 – with fresh content and Play2Earn.

What kind of game is this?

  • Legends of Aria is a sandbox MMORPG that we have been reporting on MeinMMO since 2015. It originally raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter as Shards Online, attracting mostly old-school players.
  • The developers promised them a feeling like Ultima Online conveyed. That’s why levels should be avoided and the characters improved through skills instead. There were also many other similar features, including housing and the iso perspective.
  • However, the MMORPG didn’t get much attention. When it was released in August 2019, 1,150 people played Legends of Aria at the same time – the record so far (via Steam Charts).
  • Even a change to Free2Play in 2020 brought no change. Since September 2021, the number of most concurrent players has consistently been in the double digits. On average there are not even 20 players online anymore. The last major update was also in summer 2020.

In December 2021, Blue Money Games will buy the entire studio, including Legends of Aria and the engine. This studio now wants to bring the game to new heights with a new version.

You can get a first glimpse of the game in this video by YouTuber Fischturd:

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New content and cryptocurrency to save Legends of Aria

What’s happening to Legends of Aria? The revised version of the MMORPG should get cryptocurrency, but also some new features. A statement on the website reads:

We will be relaunching the game with a focus on implementing the founding version of Legends of Aria, implemented with new content, a new playable world, and new sandbox content such as booting, player housing, improved PvP systems, prison systems, and more will.

Via Legends of Aria

The new features also include a third-person view. Players should be able to decide for themselves whether they want to play in the old iso perspective or the new view.

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This new version is scheduled to start its closed alpha on May 11th. Anyone with an optional Legends of Aria subscription can participate. An open beta is planned for June/July.

What is the cryptocurrency all about? That too will be part of Legends of Aria. So players who are freshly starting with the MMORPG should already be able to earn money. This should be possible through collecting, hatching pets, general trade and loot.

You should be able to buy and sell items, but also complete characters, via an NFT shop. In addition, ARIA tokens should be able to be earned in the game. According to the roadmap, the NFT marketplace is scheduled to be activated in August.

When will the new version appear? The official release is scheduled for October. Until then, new content related to NFTs and a creator program will be implemented, as the roadmap reveals. However, the new version should always require a subscription.

An in-game poker game and a pet system are then planned for November 2022, and a revision of the housing system and a new map will follow in Q1 2023. Other revisions such as a new PvP mode will only come in the new year.

A VR version of the game is also planned for Q3 2023.

The old version becomes Legends of Aria Classic

What if I don’t want NFTs? The developers have thought of that too. The previous Legends of Aria gets the nickname “Classic” and will be published in a new client. In this version, players can continue to run their community servers, but will no longer receive major content updates.

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What are your thoughts on the changes to Legends of Aria? Can you be attracted by the new features and Play2Earn or will you also ignore the new version of the MMORPG?

I myself predicted the death of Legends of Aria in a column in early 2021. But already in 2022 I corrected this statement due to the purchase by Blue Money Games. However, there are 6 other games that I believe will die this year:

I predict these 6 MMOs will die in 2022

Reference-mein-mmo.de