 | Digital Release: | PC November 22, 2002 December, 2012 |
| Delistings: | December 30, 2005 January 31, 2017 |
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| Developer: | Turbine Inc | |
| Publisher: | Microsoft Studios WB Games |
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| Available On: | None | |
| Links: | Asheron’s Call 2 download page |
Delisting
Asheron’s Call and Asheron’s Call 2: Fallen Kings were taken offline on January 31st, 2017. Turbine Inc. announced on December 19th, 2016 that the team behind Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online would continue development of those titles as the new independent studio Standing Stone Games. The Asheron’s Call property is owned by Turbine who in turn is owned by Warner Bros. (Time Warner) which prohibited the titles from also migrating to Standing Stone Games.
A post to the Asheron’s Call Facebook page on December 20th, 2016 confirmed that service for both games would be terminated on January 31st, 2017. Current account holders were allowed to continue playing for free until the 31st but new account creation was disabled.
No further explanation was given, the post only states that maintaining both titles over recent years was “a labor of love”. With Asheron’s Call in maintenance mode since 2014 and no new content added to Asheron’s Call 2 since 2005 it is likely that Turbine could not (and WB would not) incur the ongoing expense to keep the games online.
Earlier in 2016 Turbine had mentioned possibly turning over the servers to the community but in a post to the Asheron’s Call forums on December 20th, administrator Halistran settled the discussion. “We had hoped to be able to hand off our servers to the community, so our most loyal players could continue their journey through Dereth. Unfortunately, this is something we were unable to do.”
Asheron’s Call 2 was originally shut down on December 30th, 2005 two years after Turbine purchased the franchise from Microsoft and began self-publishing the games. It was relaunched in 2012 exclusively to players with an existing Asheron’s Call account.
About the Game
“Asheron’s Call 2: Fallen Kings, the sequel to the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Asheron’s Call, will advance the MMORPG genre with the advanced Turbine Engine G2 graphics engine, providing some of the most sophisticated graphics available on a PC. Asheron’s Call 2 Fallen Kings features a dynamic, evolving fantasy world that reacts to players’ behaviour and actions. Developed by Turbine, the game includes features such as a revamped combat system and new in-depth crafting system that gives players a chance to pursue noncombative skills.”