Chronicles of Elyria
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{{Cleanup rewrite|date=May 2021}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=May 2021}}
{{Primary sources|date=May 2021}}
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{{Infobox video game
| title = Chronicles of Elyria
| image = Chronicles of Elyria logo.png
| caption =
| developer = Soulbound Studios
| publisher =
| engine = Unity
| platform = Microsoft Windows
| release =
| genre = Massively multiplayer online role-playing game{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions About Chronicles of Elyria |url=https://chroniclesofelyria.com/game/faq |accessdate=March 18, 2018}}
| modes = Multiplayer
| director = Jeromy Walsh
| designer = Jeromy Walsh
}}
Chronicles of Elyria is a planned massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows that has been in development by Soulbound Studios since 2016.{{cite web | last=Chalk | first=Andy | title=Upcoming MMO Chronicles of Elyria promises a fully-destructible world with non-repeating quests | website=pcgamer | date=2016-06-01 | url=https://www.pcgamer.com/upcoming-mmo-chronicles-of-elyria-promises-a-fully-destructible-world-with-non-repeating-quests/ | access-date=2023-07-11}} Production started after an initially successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter that raised $1.3 million. The studio subsequently raised an additional $7.7m via their website. The game was originally marked for an estimated December 2017 release, but this target was not met and nor have any subsequent timelines. In 2020 the studio announced that it would close, and laid-off of all of its staff.{{cite web | title=CHRONICLES OF ELYRIA ENDS DEVELOPMENT AFTER 4 YEARS & $8M IN CROWDFUNDING | website=gamespace.com | url=https://www.gamespace.com/all-articles/news/chronicles-of-elyria-ends-development-after-4-years-8m-in-crowdfunding/ |author=Suzie Ford | date=25 March 2020 | access-date=2023-07-11}} It subsequently reopened later the same year.{{Cite web |title=Chronicles of Elyria - Epic Story MMORPG with Aging & Death |url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soulboundstudios/chronicles-of-elyria-epic-story-mmorpg-with-aging |website=kickstarter.com |accessdate=March 18, 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Caspian |date=25 March 2020 |title=State of Elyria: Into the Abyss |url=https://iis-prod.chroniclesofelyria.com/news/34919/State-of-Elyria-Into-the-Abyss |publisher=Chronicles of Elyria |quote=But to our great sadness.... with the failure of Settlers of Elyria, and five long months of only limited crowdfunding revenue coming in, Soulbound Studios has officially run out of money. Last night I was forced to do something I never thought I'd have to do. I closed the online store, put the SoE map back into read-only mode, and laid off all the employees... |department=Community |accessdate=2020-04-03}}
Following the closing of the studio a class action lawsuit was filed against the studio which was subsequently dismissed.{{cite web | last=Weber | first=Steven | title=Opinion: Lawsuits Be Damned, Chronicles of Elyria is a Farce and Must End Now | website=MMORPG.com | date=2022-10-15 | url=https://www.mmorpg.com/columns/opinion-lawsuits-be-damned-chronicles-of-elyria-is-a-farce-and-must-end-now-mmowtf-2000126389 | access-date=2023-07-11}}{{cite web | last=Marasigan | first=Marc | title=Class-Action Lawsuit Against Chronicles Of Elyria Studio And CEO Has Been Dismissed | website=MMOs.com | date=2022-10-14 | url=https://mmos.com/news/chronicles-of-elyria-soulbound-studios-lawsuit-dismissed | access-date=2023-07-11}}
Development
Chronicles of Elyria had a Kickstarter campaign from May 3 to June 3, 2016 raising $1.36 million, surpassing their goal of $900,000.
Subsequent to the Kickstarter fundraising multiple webstore special events were conducted, such as the Settlers Of Elyria, and Searing Plague events.{{Cite web |last=Snipehunter |date=31 August 2019 |title=Settlers of Elyria is Coming! |url=http://iis-prod.chroniclesofelyria.com/news/32762/Settlers-of-Elyria-is-Coming |access-date=2020-12-22 |publisher=Chronicles of Elyria |department=Community}}{{Cite web |last=Damgaard |first=Althea "Briseadh" |date=November 18, 2018 |title=Chronicles of Elyria: The Searing Plague and Beyond |url=https://www.gaisciochmagazine.com/articles/coe_the_searing_plague.html |url-status=live |website=Gaiscioch Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918095951/https://gaisciochmagazine.com/articles/coe_the_searing_plague.html |archive-date=2020-09-18 }}
{{Cite news |title=Soulbound Studios Needs Around $3 Million More to Finish Chronicles of Elyria |publisher=MMOs.com |url=https://mmos.com/news/soulbound-studios-needs-around-3-million-finish-chronicles-elyria |accessdate=March 23, 2018}} By October 2019, the company had raised over $7.7M.{{Cite web |title=Chronicles of Elyria has raised $7.7 million from gamers to date |url=https://massivelyop.com/2019/10/30/chronicles-of-elyria-has-raised-7-7-million-from-gamers-to-date/ |url-status=live |website=Massively Overpowered |date=30 October 2019 |accessdate=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210002249/https://massivelyop.com/2019/10/30/chronicles-of-elyria-has-raised-7-7-million-from-gamers-to-date/ |archive-date=2019-12-10 }}
Initial development saw various iterations and milestones declared as completed against a backdrop of needing to refactor the mechanics of alpha versions of the game (e.g. VoxElyria, Prelyria).{{Cite web |last=Kaizen |title=The Countdown to VoxElyria Begins |url=https://iis-prod.chroniclesofelyria.com/blog/22013/The-Countdown-to-VoxElyria-Begins |access-date=2020-12-22 |publisher=Chronicles of Elyria |department=Blog}} A major setback in development was the dropping of SpatialOS as their backend networking/game hosting software.{{Cite web |last=Altay |first=Omer |date=2018-01-13 |title=A Big Set Back - Chronicles of Elyria Drops SpatialOS |url=https://mmos.com/news/big-set-back-chronicles-elyria-drops-spatialos |access-date=2020-12-22 |website=MMOs.com |language=en-US}}
=Layoffs and hiatus=
After being delayed from its tentative December 2019 date, a special virtual land auction event called "Settlers of Elyria" was launched on March 12, 2020.{{Cite web |last=Neal |first=Chris |date=March 12, 2020 |title=Chronicles of Elyria kicks off its Settlers of Elyria virtual land auction for a second time |url=https://massivelyop.com/2020/03/12/chronicles-of-elyria-kicks-off-its-settlers-of-elyria-virtual-land-auction-for-a-second-time/ |website=Massively Overpowered |accessdate=April 14, 2020}} On March 20, Soulbound Studios released a pre-alpha, gray box demo showcasing parkour mechanics.{{Cite web |last=Shankar |first=Poorna |date=March 23, 2020 |title=Chronicles of Elyria Pre-Alpha Testing Has Started |url=https://www.mmorpg.com/chronicles-of-elyria/news/chronicles-of-elyria-pre-alpha-testing-has-started-2000117627 |website=MMORPG.com |accessdate=April 14, 2020}} Four days later, Soulbound Studios announced the closure of the studio, complete staff layoffs and the indefinite hiatus of the project. On April 9, Walsh released a new statement, claiming that his announcement was misinterpreted and that he would be pursuing continuing the project by having former staff members continue their work on a pro bono basis, while he would seek new sources of funding.{{Cite web |last=Royce |first=Bree |date=April 9, 2020 |title=Chronicles of Elyria boss says development is still ongoing, still seeking funding |url=https://massivelyop.com/2020/04/09/chronicles-of-elyria-boss-says-he-never-intended-to-permanently-end-development-is-still-seeking-funding/ |website=Massively Overpowered |accessdate=April 14, 2020}} On June 26, Walsh released a post on the official site announcing that the transaction logs of users was now available (they were subsequently disabled when then the site was locked). He also stated that a new series of content will be posted on the site (and other media) "in the coming weeks".{{Cite web |last=Caspian |date=June 26, 2020 |title=The Way Forward: Update 1 |url=https://iis-prod.chroniclesofelyria.com/news/34999/The-Way-Forward-Update-1 |access-date=2020-12-22 |publisher=Chronicles of Elyria |department=News}}
On December 17, 2020, Soulbound Studios released a video titled "Inside Chronicles of Elyria - Episode 1" that featured Walsh explaining the current state and future of the company and the game. The video claimed that an independent auditor verified that the revenue backers gave to the company was "properly spent on game development". It also claimed that much of the content developed during the four years of development was not at a point for public consumption, but that many back end features had progressed. Additionally, Walsh announced that the game was continuing active development.{{Cite web |title=Inside Chronicles of Elyria - Episode 1 - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqcIFyIzLrQ&t=72s&ab_channel=ChroniclesofElyria |access-date=2020-12-22 |website=www.youtube.com| date=17 December 2020 }}{{primary inline|date=December 2024}}
= Class action lawsuit =
Following the announcement of Soulbound Studios' closure, days after a land auction, hundreds of backers of Chronicles of Elyria began to organize and explore legal avenues to take against Soulbound Studios and Walsh. Within days, the office of the attorney general of Washington had received hundreds of filed complaints – among the highest in the state's history.{{Cite web |last=Royce |first=Bree |date=April 7, 2020 |title=Disgruntled Chronicles of Elyria backers seek aid from the Washington attorney general |url=https://massivelyop.com/2020/04/07/disgruntled-chronicles-of-elyria-backers-seek-aid-from-the-washington-attorney-general/ |website=Massively Overpowered |accessdate=April 14, 2020}} In April 2020 a class action lawsuit was filed in the Central District Court of California, seeking damages for alleged breach of contract, violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and unfair competition after an announcement was made that Soulbound Studios was closing, all staff had been laid off, and development on the game had ceased due to lack of funds.{{Cite news |last=Marasigan |first=Marc |date=2021-04-08 |title=Chronicles Of Elyria Lawsuit Defendants Deciding If They Should Challenge The Complaint |language=en-US |publisher=MMOs.com |url=https://mmos.com/news/chronicles-of-elyria-lawsuit-defendants-deciding-if-they-should-challenge-the-complaint |access-date=2021-06-29}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB8ZAqZnRqM |title=Was The Game Ever Real ? - 8 Million Dollars Missing - The Chronicles of Elyria |date=2 Apr 2021 |publisher=KiraTV |medium=YouTube}} The plaintiffs filed a similar lawsuit against Xsolla, accusing the company of violating the terms of service that the backers who had purchased through their service agreed to, by refusing to refund them.{{Cite news |last=Royce |first=Bree |date=April 7, 2020 |title=Disgruntled Chronicles of Elyria backers seek aid from the Washington attorney general |language=en-US |publisher=Massively Overpowered |url=https://massivelyop.com/2020/04/07/disgruntled-chronicles-of-elyria-backers-seek-aid-from-the-washington-attorney-general/ |access-date=December 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223213148/https://massivelyop.com/2020/04/07/disgruntled-chronicles-of-elyria-backers-seek-aid-from-the-washington-attorney-general/ |archive-date=December 23, 2020}}
The lawsuit against filed against Xsolla in California was deferred on September 7, 2021, with the ruling being that it would need to be re-filed in the Western District of Washington.{{Cite news |last=Royce |first=Bree |date=September 7, 2021 |title=Gamers’ class-action against Chronicles of Elyria studio proceeds, suit against Xsolla deferred |language=en-US |publisher=Massively Overpowered |url=https://massivelyop.com/2021/09/07/gamers-class-action-against-chronicles-of-elyria-studio-proceeds-suit-against-xsolla-deferred/ |access-date=December 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240412171332/https://massivelyop.com/2021/09/07/gamers-class-action-against-chronicles-of-elyria-studio-proceeds-suit-against-xsolla-deferred/ |archive-date=April 12, 2024}} The lawsuit against Souldbound Studios was dismissed in October 2022.{{Cite web |url=https://www.mmorpg.com/announcements/chronicles-of-elyria-class-action-dismissed-walsh-does-victory-lap-over-backers-in-latest-update-2000126359 |title=Chronicles of Elyria Class Action Dismissed, Walsh Does Victory Lap Over Backers In Latest Update |date=13 Oct 2022 |publisher=mmorpg.com |medium=website}}
References
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External links
- [https://chroniclesofelyria.com Official website]
Category:Crowdfunded video games
Category:Fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing games
Category:Kickstarter-funded video games
Category:Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games
Category:Role-playing video games
Category:Vaporware video games
Category:Video games developed in the United States