194 days. That's how long Platinum Games' fast-forgotten live service game Babylon's Fall has been online. Now, a mere six months after release, the developer has announced the multiplayer action RPG will be closing its doors in early 2023.
Though it's still available for purchase on Steam at the time of writing, Babylon's Fall is in the process of being pulled from all storefronts and will no longer be available for purchase after September 13. Sales of premium currency Garaz are also being nixed. The game will continue with its second season until November 29 before kicking off "The Final Season" which will run until servers terminate on February 27, 2023.
Unsurprisingly Platinum says it's cancelling any large-scale updates, but says it's planning to "implement as many events and other initiatives" in the runup to the game's closure as possible. November will introduce the first of two new Very Hard duels—quests that pit players against an incredibly powerful boss—with Zenon, and then Ereshkigal in January.
Babylon's Fall will terminate its service on February 27, 2023https://t.co/Htx8ILAFjG pic.twitter.com/Osyd8lpMwlSeptember 13, 2022
In the closure's announcement, Platinum thanked its players for their continued feedback throughout Babylon's short lifespan. "In particular, through our surveys we received a great deal of enthusiastic messages of support alongside keen observations of issues and suggestions for improvement," the statement read. "This really made us feel that we were able to create the world of Babylon's Fall together with our players. Despite all of your support, we are truly sad and sorry to say that we will be unable to continue with the game's service. We hope you continue to enjoy playing Babylon's Fall until the service ends."
It's a real shame to see the path Babylon's Fall has taken, especially from a developer that once consistently put out bangers. From its release, the game was surrounded by negative feedback and a rapidly dropping player count. In her Babylon's Fall review, Anne-Marie Coyle said it would "bore you to death," calling it "remarkable only for its blandness." Despite being a full-priced $60 game, it was plagued by monetisation tactics and pointless battle passes that squandered any fun or natural player progression. Even just two months after release it appeared that only one person was playing the game—which turned out to be journalist Dashiell Wood who is probably very upset right now.
It's never nice to see a game go out this way—by the time it closes down it will have been live for 361 days. That's almost 200 days less than how much time we went between the game's E3 2018 reveal and its next appearance at the 2019 State of Play. It's hard not to think of the kind of game Babylon's Fall could have been if it had stuck to its original Nier: Automata-like vision, and feels like a mighty unfortunate end for something that could've been a hell of a lot more fun.
Babylon's Fall's servers will close on February 27, 2023 at 11 PM PT.
