WildStar Shutting Down, Carbine Studio Closing

Carbine Studios and its single MMORPG WildStar will both be shutting down. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone keeping an eye on the game, as its playerbase numbers have been dwindling for years. Even the game's free to play transition in 2015 wasn't enough to stem the bleeding.

“Today, we are closing Carbine Studios and will begin the process of winding WildStar down to ultimately shutter the game,” NCSoft said in a statement. “WildStar players who have spent money within the game will be refunded purchases from July 1, 2018 until the payment system is shut off. We are also in the process of identifying the teams that will be doing the work to bring WildStar to a close. These decisions are very difficult to make and we are in the midst of shifting as many of our teammates as possible into other roles within the organization.”

No word on exactly when the game will be shut down, but 50 employees at Carbine are being laid off and the studio is shuttering for good. While I've long predicted that the game would shut down, WildStar's grasp onto life for years has surprised me. A game can only survive so long without enough players to support it and it looks like WildStar's time has finally come.

Further reading: Kotaku