Myst Online dissipating

MMOG edition of famed puzzle adventure to be removed from GameTap's online distribution service within 60 days.

In 2006, online distribution service GameTap brought Myst Online back from the brink after Ubisoft unceremoniously canned the budding project. However, Uru fans had reason to be skeptical over the future of the niche massively multiplayer online edition of Cyan World's famed puzzle adventure. After all, financial concerns were laid at the feet of the game's original cancellation in 2004, and the market for adventure-style puzzle games hasn't exactly expanded in recent years.

It turns out that the skepticism was well founded, as GameTap today gave players a two-month notice on the shuttering of Myst Online: Uru Live, after having launched the game a little more than one year ago. A post by GameTap VP of Content and Creative Director Ricardo Sanchez confirms the game's closure, saying it was once again economic viability that dissipated the game's future.

"The decision was a very difficult one and was made for business reasons rather than due to any issues regarding the design and vision of the amazing world that Cyan Worlds and Rand Miller have brought to us," said Sanchez. "Despite the great Myst Online experience coming to a close, Cyan is still a very valued partner of GameTap, we are on excellent terms, and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future."

According to Sanchez, Uru Live will continue to operate for the next 60 days on GameTap, but will be removed from the service after that period. Sanchez also noted that the game's Web site, MystOnline.com, will remain active for fans of the game.

62 Comments

  • -Nintendude-

    Posted Aug 21, 2008 7:43 am PT

    Only thing the game lacked was character development. If it would have had some kind of RPG elements and experience implemented some way (not by killing things since it's not what the Myst series is about) it might have been much more interesting game. Heck, even some kind of playing cards to collect from places, play against and win from other people might have been enough to make it a bit deeper experience.

  • AngelBullock

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 1:48 am PT

    People say no one ever played the game or as someone else said "A whole 5 people" but if you take a look at the guild forums, there is quite a following. You just needed to know where to look. The one main problem with the game is that it actually took some thinking and sadly to say that gamers now these days lose interest within a few minutes if something isn't getting killed. How dare they make an MMORPG that isn't based on going around killing everything in sight and being able to have bragging rights about having such a high level and 'l33t' character because you know, we're all noobs...

  • simewn

    Posted Feb 6, 2008 3:33 pm PT

    I was so eagerly anticipating gametap to launch at Europe so I can play URU live. It was the only game I was going to pay a subscription for.
    What did gametap excpect, to have million members like WOW.Come on.

  • somberfox

    Posted Feb 6, 2008 5:36 am PT

    Steam is awesome. It's easily the most convenient way to buy games.

  • Azwhtknight

    Posted Feb 6, 2008 3:34 am PT

    I like adventure games, but I thought Myst was boring and weak, but I am sorry for the fans out there. I know how it can suck to have a project like this pulled when it was something you liked.

  • athenian29

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 6:08 pm PT

    BTW, Infectx? Last I checked, Steam was a steaming pile of crud. WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY NOBODY IS MAD AT STEAM ANYMORE???????

  • keyhunter

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 4:18 pm PT

    Myst sucks.

  • vinylmeister

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 12:48 pm PT

    I signed up on Gametap specificly for Myst Online. I probably won't be renewing my membership.....

  • DoomKid

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 12:00 pm PT

    NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!

    ='-(

    They can't do this!!!!!!!!!!

  • highwaykind

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 10:17 am PT

    Well, this s*cks!!! I really hope the community does what it did last time. Sets up their own servers and try to keep it running.... Two more months to play

  • DniExplorer

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 10:13 am PT

    Uru was a story, a community, and an experience, which makes it unlike any game or MMO. Although I'm sad to see it close again, I'm glad GameTap gave it a second chance.

  • wdmalik

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 9:57 am PT

    Agreed ... I thought Guild Wars might get some decent share but alas

  • GSU28

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 4:02 am PT

    It has really come to the point where it isn't a financially sound choice to produce MMO's. WoW has really set a foothold that is unlikely to budge for a long time. Maybe Age of Conan could do something about it, but that is unlikely. Alas, the future of the genre lies with Blizzard.

  • runstalker

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 2:50 am PT

    Hey, a lot of developers would kill to release a game that remained active and played for a full year, regardless of genre. Many well-received games fade into the mist (blah) after a month or two. Myst Online simply outstayed its welcome.

  • subrosian

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 2:15 am PT

    The sad truth of any MMO is that at some point it must die - running servers costs money - quite a bit of money, and when public interest in a game evaporates, so too must the game.

    One of the saddest things about the death of an MMO is that you can never return - unlike a classic childhood game, you can never relive the moments you had with it. Maybe that isn't for the worst though - you can never really relive the first time you played FF7, or how blown away you were by Twisted Metal's graphics.

    Many years ago I played a game called Vagabond's Quest - it was a MUD with hundreds of people in each of the arenas at any given time - I visited shortly before it became non-functional, and it was a wasteland, every arena was empty - now it is mere dust, player registration broken, login impossible.

    Good-bye Myst Online - the truth was you were an obscure, niche title - but now you serve as a wake-up call to a new generation of MMO gamers - the end cometh one day to all games.

  • nirvanamaniac

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 1:58 am PT

    Why couldn't this be SWG?

  • NeoNavarro

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 11:46 pm PT

    I sware I'd cry if Blizzard sent me a notice about WoW shutting down in two months. I'm sorry to see Myst go I really am. A moment of silence...

  • lenson

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 11:33 pm PT

    This is too bad I really liked myst online too. But just another reason not to go back to gametap.

  • IIBlackknightII

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 11:15 pm PT

    Atleast its active.

  • mikethemonkey

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 10:37 pm PT

    Cool! Save some of that internet bandwidth for something else!

  • ketsuatama

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 9:50 pm PT

    Lost forever in the Myst of time!

  • V-Nine

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 9:48 pm PT

    I thought being able to toss other players out the door in Sims online was a novel idea...oh well...

  • o_laggy_o

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    This is great news.

  • Zoomer30

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 8:22 pm PT

    Myst Online....wow...I guess its true what they say, they will try to make ANY game a MMORPG these days, even if the game does not fit the genre at all. Makes The Sims Online look like a stellar idea.

  • DFalcon999

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 8:17 pm PT

    I applaud that GameTap at least gave it a try instead of chickening out at the last minute like Ubisoft did.

  • cherold01

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 8:05 pm PT

    There were basic problems in the Uru design. Navigation was horrible. But there were fans who didn't see that and would get furious at anyone who mentioned it (as I discovered when I checked out GameTap's Myst Online early on). If they had revamped the navigation to make the game as easy to navigate as almost any other game made in the last five years they would have had a better chance of growing their following, but after ignoring the beta testers who had complained about the navigation they were doomed from the beginning.

    Which is a shame, because there was a lot of potential in the project. It was great looking and an MMO for those looking for something different. But having failed, I think they've doomed any chance of anyone else trying something similar.

  • YukoAsho

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:50 pm PT

    I still remember the fanfare Myst Online was receiving. GameTap was acting like this was such a huge freaking deal. I find it hilarious how badly it went.

  • jfrdricks63

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:47 pm PT

    Could this be the writing on the wall for Gametap as well?

  • jaredcrazy3232

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:45 pm PT

    **CRY** I i grew up on Myst and many other adventure games, sad to see Myst go.

  • redskinStu

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:43 pm PT

    The strong survive.

  • Vulpis

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:36 pm PT

    Well, there goes the several thousand people who signed up for GameTap for the sole reason of playing Myst Online there. Maybe Cyan will do like they did with Until Uru the first time and run their own server 'frozen' at the last stage of development, or at least provide the code to let people run their own private servers again. Kind of a shame, really--Uru wa a rather nice social/community environment that had puzzles to do and areas to explore, not to mention the storyline, background, and world that went along with it. OTOH, from the reports I'm seeing of the 'episodes' since it started on GameTap, Cyan's been putting a bit too much Drama into the thing.

    It just figures, though--I finally manage to get the $$$ to be able to replace my Athlon CPU with an Athlon XP (needed for the SSE instruction set--d*mn Ageia PhysX drivers), and this happens. :-/

  • tekmojo

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:29 pm PT

    Sucks for what, like 5 players who even played the game?

  • YunalescaFFX

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 7:01 pm PT

    Wow never knew this game even existed (not the online part) - it sure looks pretty though. To bad many of us found out about Myst Online through this unfortunate news

  • daniel8501

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 6:59 pm PT

    That's too bad. Uru was one of my all-time favorite games. The online aspect of the game was a good idea I must admit, however, it really never had much more to offer than the singleplayer game already did and it really wasn't going anywhere.

    I mean pretty much the only reason I have a 1 year gametap subscripton is for Uru live. The whole time I have been waiting specifically for the release of one new age which is comparable to some of the big ones in the singleplayer. No such luck though. All I have seen are these pod ages which keep your attention for about five minutes. Nothing like Gashreen or Teledahn.

    What they really should do is make one more great expansion pack like "Path of the Shell" and see how it does in sales. I guarentee it would attract more customers.

  • Jager5

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 6:43 pm PT

    I for one loved URU and am sad to see it go. Heres hoping they release a patch enabling all the online only areas people paid for to be accessed offline. Aside form that, send in the server emulators!

    I agree adventure should not be MMOG (milk money outta gamers), but multiplayer adventure should be better supported. Not every gamer who likes to explore likes to do so in isolation. Too many players in the same game, on the other hand, and suddenly its all been done. That kills the lure that pulls a lot of players into this genre. Make it online capable, but take a page from wow with the group instanced zones.

  • sphinx-shadow

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 6:16 pm PT

    myst is great never even played Uru but as for the point and cilck genre it is dyeing Hotel Dusk for the DS gives us fans of the point and click genre some hope that it can live with all the other genres i guess only time will tell.

  • Humikimi

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 6:15 pm PT

    That is a pity, I was immensely interested in this and I decided to restart the Myst series JUST for this (I had never played anything beyond Riven)...looks like I invested in all 5 games for nothing. Well regarding the original intent at least, though I'm liking the story so far.

  • Buttduck

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 5:42 pm PT

    There was a Myst Online?

  • InfectX

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 5:33 pm PT

    PUT IT ON STEAM!!!

  • Sargus

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 5:27 pm PT

    I'm a huge, HUGE Myst fan, but was never the biggest supporter of Uru, especially the online component.

  • Hitamaru-homia

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 5:11 pm PT

    Who played Myst games besides basement dwellers???

  • jukeyjuke posted Feb 4, 2008 5:00 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    jukeyjuke

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 5:00 pm PT (hide)

    Thank God. That game was annoying just to look at on the list.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 4:57 pm PT

    The Myst is finally dissipating back into the dark abyss from whence in came.

  • doomsoth

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 4:49 pm PT

    Well, I would have been interested in playing Uru Online, if they had not cancelled it the first time. I love Myst, but it would have been hard to get back into Uru after so long.

  • Magusi

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 4:10 pm PT

    VanGriffin:
    "Why does everyone want FPS?? "
    -------------------------
    I was being sarcastic actually, I think there are way to many.

  • DuaneDog

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 4:00 pm PT

    It's like trying to make a square peg fit a round hole. WOW is successful because the engine is solid and there are real game elements that bring players together to finish quests. At first I thought the "plot" was thin but going deeper into the game I'm realizing that 95% of the players do not even read the quests that are given them. It's about character development... just like in movies the development of the characters can often be THE plot, so is the case of WOW. Perhaps someday a great game developer will meld some of the puzzle/adventure elements into a successful MPOG... but it's going to take more than just trying to slap multi-player on as an afterthought.

  • kickyourq posted Feb 4, 2008 3:54 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    kickyourq

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 3:54 pm PT (hide)

    It was a dumb game anyways.

  • BigDaddy973

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 3:46 pm PT

    That sucks for them.

  • somberfox

    Posted Feb 4, 2008 3:44 pm PT

    Maybe now Cyan can focus on making a real Myst game instead of this online sandbox crap.

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