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Unfortunately, Dawngate’s other features weren’t sticky enough in a market that was flooded with other options. They didn’t gain enough players to reach their target numbers over their first five months of open beta, so the publisher decided to pull the plug. I should point out that this was during a period where MOBAs were extremely prevalent. During that period, in addition to Dawngate we saw:
- League of Legends (2009)
- Heroes of Newerth (2010)
- Awesomenauts (2012)
- DOTA 2 (2013)
- Smite (2014)
- Heroes of the Storm (2015)
- Infinite Crisis (2015)
As is the case with most live service games, those who find themselves without a path to sustainable numbers are quickly shut down. As innovative as the social features and karma system were, and as positive as the community was, the rest of the game wasn’t enough to grab players’ attention in the crowded market of the era. Timing and market conditions are extremely large factors in any game’s success, and neither of those are really within the developer or publisher’s control. We launch when we launch because we don’t have endless funding. Salaries, bills, and debts must be paid.
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