Shutdown of Might & Magic: Showdown

[{CH}ArticleBot]

Ubisoft's Might & Magic Showdown was shutdown. The last date when the servers will be accessible will be at July 31. The game was removed from the shop two days ago.

"The game will remain in your Steam Library, but server support will end on July 31, 2017 and the game itself will become inoperable. In an effort to ensure that we abide by our players’ expectations of the Early Access model, we will be offering full refunds to players who feel they are owed them until July 31, 2017."

~Thank you Heroes. The Might & Magic SHOWDOWN team

The game was struggling for audience and for a few last days, there was almost no one in the lobby.

Previously the game received several patches, new Citadel, Hack Crag and Sandro mini campaigns. For most audience it was sensed like a beautiful miniatures painting tool - which could keep you busy for a hours. But the online part was not so well appreciated, the idea of scripting your hero and building him up through multitude of battles seems unfinished.

However I must applaud them for a courage, to try somethign new. And if I might add, if they would focus more on connecting the online part, we might have a perfect game to relax a while. The mix of painting and battling, just didn't blend well at this moment.

source: Steam

Thanks for alerting us goes to Avonu and JSE.
Read full article...

[Karmakeld]

Wow that was a short life..But surprised they actually offered refunds this time..But as the article suggests, if only they invested more time in development, perhaps it could've lived longer, similar to.. oh well...

[Panda Tar]

Bad decisions one after the other. I mean related to creating this game in first place. Shutting it is a good decision. Another thing to be forgotten.

[Galaad]

I read it Might and Magic: Shutdown since the beginning.

[BB Shockwave]

So Ubisoft put time, money and effort into a game that... gets closed down in less then half a year? Wow. That is a new low.
Please, Ubisoft, just SELL the liscence please, you never knew what to do with it, and why people liked the games before you got your grubby little hands on them.

[BB Shockwave]

I read it Might and Magic: Shutdown since the beginning.

Showdown-Shutdown... yeah it even rhymes. THis was doomed from the start. Miniature painters do it in real life, not virtually.

[Troller]

Yeah this was always a gimmick - not going to loose any sleep over the loss of that... RIP

[Angelspit]

No point in flogging a dead horse, but here is what a developer said not so long ago:

UbiJimothy [developer] 2 May @ 5:51pm
"Hey folks, just to pop a message in here to address some of the comments below; I can reassure you that we will *not* be abandoning the game. We're committed to providing the best experience possible with SHOWDOWN, which the time between this patch and release will give us the ability to do."

It shows that a lot can change in two months. And it's a good example of why some publishers will try to limit or control what is being said to the fans.

But I also want to credit Ubisoft for taking a risk, and trying something completely different.

[Karmakeld]

Well as far as I know, Might and Magic Online is still running... But then again, as Angelspit said, a lot could've changed since I last checked. Anywho even though I have enjoyed the game in the past, I'm surprised it lives on despite a general lack of new content. It could turn out to be the longest lasting MMH title by Ubi.

[Galaad]

But I also want to credit Ubisoft for taking a risk, and trying something completely different.

Taking risks? Yeah right... They were so afraid of what Might and Magic REALLY is about they killed it from the start. Ok, they made h5 of warcraft, but that one was only saved with Tote's gameplay as all know.

[Wizard of Soz]

Oh, I did not realize there were a couple of campaigns. Any new story/lore details or lore details from them anywhere I can find this?

[Karmakeld]

Well the statement was that the servers is up untill July 31st, so it should still be available in the game. It seems the best place to look for the campaigns, if you're looking for more lore - not sure if anyone cared to cover them on youtube.

[Avonu]

These "campaigns" have literally no stories or any lore - at leats nothing canon or even semi-canon. They are just 5 short battles of Crag Hack with some texts, without connection to rest of Ashan's games.

Crag Hack’s campaign is now playable! The campaign consists of the following 5 challenging battles, where you are accompanied by creatures with their own behaviour.
DON’T MESS WITH THE ORCS!
Crag Hack (Playable Hero)
Assassin (Killer)
Inquisitor (Defender)
Titan (Destroyer)
Shantiri Golem (Killer)

THE ANCIENT MONOLITH
Crag Hack (Playable Hero)
Assassin (Killer)
Shantiri Golem (Killer)
Titan (Destroyer)
Sentinel (Defender)

CRYSTAL HUNTERS
Crag Hack (Playable Hero)
Assassin (Killer)
Shantiri Golem (Killer)
Titan (Destroyer)
Inquisitor (Defender)

SURVIVAL
Crag Hack (Playable Hero)
Crusher (Killer)
Shantiri Golem (Killer)
Brimstone (Destroyer)
Inquisitor (Defender)

SANDRO
Crag Hack (Playable Hero)
Shantiri Golem (Killer)
Storm Invoker (Killer)
Titan (Destroyer)
Shaman (Defender)

[Sslaxx]

That little disclaimer on Crag Hack's entry does at least indicate the possibility that some of the whole lack of "lore" thing was intentional.

[Avonu]

Indeed it was. As you can see in Crag Hack's "biography", there are a lot of places taken from previous Might and Magic games:
- Blistering Heights - MM3
- Quagmire of Doom - MM2
- Pirahna Bay - MM3
- Mount Firestone - MM4
- Sea of Mist - from a book with the same title
- Toothrot tavern - MMX

[Marzhin]

That little disclaimer on Crag Hack's entry does at least indicate the possibility that some of the whole lack of "lore" thing was intentional.

To give some context, they were meant to be parodies of D&D modules, to stay consistent with the whole "play with miniatures" angle. I was involved fairly late to write those, with a mandate that could be summed up by "have fun out of canon". I wrote six such stories I believe, based on the encounters the team had previously designed (that was tricky), before the game's development was put on hold.