Questions about Legends Shutdown

[TheGamerSeal]

I just received word of the Legends shutdown, and am frankly [&@%!]. Does anyone know if the game's offline content will still be available to play, or if this is a full game shutdown?

[SeaGtGruff]

I don't think you can play the game "offline"; you need to be logged in on the servers. So when they shut down the servers, you'll no longer be able to play the game.

[TheGamerSeal]

That really sucks. Is there any idea why this is happening, or are players just being left in the dark like what happens in ESO so many times?

[SeaGtGruff]

All I know is what the in-game announcement said, which was that the servers would be permanently shut down at the end of January (the 30th, not the 31st), and that everything in the store was marked down to 1 gold so everyone would be able to enjoy all of the content before the servers are shut down.

My guess would be that the game has failed to attract enough players and make enough money to justify keeping the servers up and running any longer. Although I personally haven't spent any money on the game-- I acquired all of the stories and puzzles with in-game gold-- and I had a difficult time getting the hang of the game, I imagine that a lot of players who do enjoy the game probably did spend money on it.

This is a sobering reminder that one day ESO's servers will be shut down, at which time I'll have nothing to show for all of the money I've spent on ESO except for memories. Hopefully that day is still in the far future, since I would like to keep enjoying ESO for many more months and years.

I always logged in on Legends each day to collect the daily rewards and buy content with gold when I'd saved up enough to buy something, and I kept telling myself that I was going to sit down and figure out the game someday, so I was saddened to hear about the servers being shut down soon. I'll have to make good on my promise to myself before January 30.

[TheGamerSeal]

I think, since the game has a fair amount of content that doesn't actually require more than one player, the game should be relegated to single-player access; unlock all content and maybe even make the game accessible for locally hosted sessions to allow for matches between friends. Shutting it down completely is simply the lazy solution here. Perhaps there needs to be some petition made in Legends' defense?

It's a dark thought to consider the likelihood of ZeniMax pulling the plug on ESO one day. A better option would be to restructure some of the game's content so it can be made accessible for offline use.

[legoless]

Legends has been in maintenance mode since December 2019 so it was only a matter of time before the servers shut down.

There is no financial incentive I guess for Microsoft to redevelop Legends as an offline singleplayer game. This is the main issue with games as a service, and—as mentioned above—this applies to the likes of ESO, Blades, Castles as well. A major headache for archivists and wiki editors.

If you're a citizen of the European Union, there's an ongoing initiative currently looking for signatures which would require videogame publishers to leave games in a functional (playable) state.