Defiance shuts down (yes, that show-based MMO)

Challenge and Challenge 2050 will close on April 29, Trion Worlds announced on Steam yesterday. Both games will be downloadable and playable until that date.

The decision to close both games comes down to financial viability, with Trion World concluding that “the two games could no longer be sustained.” Starting today, players will no longer be able to purchase in-game items or resources using real money. And price on all game items are cut, so people can spend all their leftovers before the end of the world. Players who have spent money on either game over the past few months will be able to transfer those bits to any Gamingo game.

The original Challenge released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in April 2013, just months before the Xbox One and PS4 were released. It was an MMO-shooter and was linked to a sci-fi show on SyFy, also called Challenge. The connection wasn’t meant to be a superficial marketing stunt concocted after the game and the show were released. The developers and producers worked together. For example, the writers and producers of the show planned to have characters ride on horseback, but that changed when nixed game developers the idea, probably because it would have been too technically demanding. The show and the game also planned to have crossovers between the characters and the storyline.

Unfortunately, most of these plans never happened.. The show was not a big success and the game got off to a rough ride. In 2015, after three seasons, SyFy canceled the show, leaving the future of the game uncertain. But Trion Worlds continued to support him, even post a big update after the cancellation of the show which was considered the fourth season of the show.

In 2018, Trion Worlds released a remastered and reworked version of the game for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Challenge 2050 would be free-to-play at launch, unlike the original Challenge, and would include new content set decades after the show’s script. As of April 2020, the original Challenge on Xbox 360 has been discontinued.

Now, almost a year later, all other versions of this strange and ambitious MMO finally come to an end after eight years of service. For those who want to go back to one or the other game and relive some memories or experiences Challenge for the first time, Trion Worlds will allow new players to register and download the game until April 29.

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