After 17 years, massively multiplayer online role-playing game Asheron's Call shut down. It ran from November 2, 1999, to yesterday, January 31, 2017. PC Gamer put together a meaningful tribute, interviewing some of Asheron's Call's most dedicated players. From PC Gamer:
Saying goodbye is never easy. Today, thousands of players said goodbye to the friends they made while playing the MMO Asheron's Call as the plug was pulled on its servers after 17 years. We were there to document the final moments and reminisce with a few of the community's most dedicated players about their time spent in the world of Dereth.
When you have a population playing a 17-year-old game, it's often less about the game and more about the people playing it. A lot happens in that amount of time. Players made friends, made enemies. Players moved servers, moved home addresses, moved on. Players went through school, went through marriages, went through parenthood. So, when you see someone crying, they're not crying about a screenshot of pixelated characters and low-poly-count towns. They're crying in order to reconcile months, years, or even a decade of memories having the plug pulled on them.
Asheron's Call was developer Turbine's first video game. It was the second 3D MMORPG ever made, after EverQuest. Under Warner Bros. direction, Turbine's focus is now mobile gaming. The clock is ticking for Turbine's surviving MMOs, Dungeons & Dragons Online (2006) and The Lord of the Rings Online (2007).
Shortly after Asheron's Call's game servers closed yesterday, Turbine also removed the official forums and Facebook page. Asheron's Call 2, which originally launched in 2002, was likewise shut down yesterday.
