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Codemasters drops ArchLord MMO

Webzen to keep it going in the West.

Codemasters Online Gaming has not renewed its contract to operate free-to-play MMO ArchLord in North America and Europe. The game's not being closed, though - Korean publisher Webzen is stepping to keep the game running in the West.

According to the transition FAQ, Codemasters is shutting its ArchLord servers down on 2nd October, and Webzen will open its service the very next day, 3rd October. We'll believe that when we see it.

Character data is being passed over to the new operator, so ArchLord players won't have to start again from scratch.

ArchLord received poor reviews when it launched back in 2006, but a timely move to a free-to-play business model kept it going. The game's selling point is that it's possible for a single player to rise to total dominance over the game world. ArchLord also achieved some small notoriety by featuring in the Belgian film Ben X, about an autistic young man who retreats into its fantasy world.

The loss of ArchLord leaves Codemasters operating two MMOs in Europe only: Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online. It was also due to launch NetDevil's space combat MMO Jumpgate Evolution this year, but that game has all but disappeared from the radar since it was delayed back in May.