Chronicles of Elyria 主创 Jeromy Walsh 已解散 Soulbound Studio 并寻求新工作

We’ve had another long, noteworthy silence out of Soulbound Studios CEO and Chronicles of Elyria lead developer Jeromy Walsh — recall that the last we had heard about the game was this past August — and that appears to be with very good reason, as he has confirmed on LinkedIn that the studio is no more and that he’s now seeking new work.

“After more than eleven years running my indie game company, Soulbound Studios, I’m looking for my next opportunity,” Walsh writes. “[A]fter more than a decade of being responsible for everything from engineering and product decisions to hiring, infrastructure, and the long-term direction of the company itself, I’m genuinely excited by the idea of joining a team again, owning difficult problems, building great technology, and contributing without needing to wear every hat at once.”

Walsh offers a long list of technical know-how and experience over the course of attempting to keep COE development running, but ultimately appears to have finally bowed to the stresses that have piled on over the course of the crowdfunded MMO’s long and tumultuous development.

“I’ve learned some of the hardest lessons of my career as a manager and leader. I’ve hired the wrong people for the wrong roles. I’ve waited too long to make difficult personnel decisions. I’ve both micromanaged and, when my attention was divided in too many directions, failed to provide enough direction at all. I’ve learned how much clear expectations, communication, and trust matter. I’ve made mistakes, learned from them, and today I lead and collaborate differently because of them.”

We’ve been following this long, winding, and frankly wildly mismanaged story from the very beginning all the way up to its apparently ignominious end, as seen in the list below. Naturally our minds turn to what this means for those who did throw Kickstarter money, which at this project is an open question, but if you were somehow still holding a whiff of hope that COE, in whatever incarnation it was moving toward, would see the light of day, you can now extinguish that flame.

Further reading:

• Leakers suggest Chronicles of Elyria boss is working on ElyriaMUD and income generation

• Chronicles of Elyria dev addresses fumbled deadlines, the missing website, and press coverage

• Chronicles of Elyria’s dev blogs disappear, and there’s no timeline for when they’ll return

• Chronicles of Elyria dev claims development is ‘progressing steadily,’ but no, you can’t see it

• Chronicles of Elyria’s Jeromy Walsh holds a ‘fireside chat’ that’s long on promise but short on timelines

• Chronicles of Elyria shifts development roadmap of its six different pieces based on feedback

• Chronicles of Elyria claims that over 90% of fans still want the MMO

• Chronicles of Elyria begins alpha testing… a feedback form

• Chronicles of Elyria studio tosses ‘quick release’ strategy after inking a licensing deal

• Chronicles of Elyria boss explains how Soulbound burned through nearly $7M in three years

• Chronicles of Elyria claims its Soulborn Engine ‘is a functional MMO engine once again’

• Chronicles of Elyria dev insists it will ‘return as a full-fledged MMO in no time’

• Chronicles of Elyria dev again recaps backend work, saying ‘the core platform is nearing completion’

• Chronicles of Elyria apologizes for ‘toxic’ Discord, aims to test Kingdoms of Elyria again soon

• Chronicles of Elyria boss insists Kingdoms of Elyria: Settlements will ship in 2023 in spite of lawsuit appeal

• Chronicles of Elyria dev celebrates dismissal of backer lawsuit as next phase of ‘hero’s journey’

• Chronicles of Elyria admits to running out of money in 2021, ‘hemorrhaging cash’ ever since

• Chronicles of Elyria says the mid-alpha test phase will roll out this spring, addresses stock assets

• Chronicles of Elyria is now estimating a late 2024 release

• Chronicles of Elyria’s subreddit reopens, promising ‘no more censorship from Soulbound Studios’

• Gamers’ class-action against Chronicles of Elyria studio proceeds, suit against Xsolla deferred

• The Chronicles of Elyria class-action lawsuit has been split up between two states now

• Chronicles of Elyria tweaks NDA, locks down Reddit over death threats, and proposes NFT land trades

• Chronicles of Elyria backers sound the alarm on class action waiver in new NDA

• Kingdoms of Elyria colony sim alpha test starts on July 6

• Chronicles of Elyria talks rebuilding trust in backer Q&A as the consumer lawsuit continues

• Chronicles of Elyria previews Kingdoms of Elyria gameplay, outlines the path to alpha

• Chronicles of Elyria previews its Kingdoms of Elyria alpha

• Chronicles of Elyria dev answers backers’ Kingdoms of Elyria questions

• Chronicles of Elyria developer offers a look at Milestone 2 features coming to side game Kingdoms of Elyria

• Chronicles of Elyria, now back up to five devs, examines its development achievements and shortcomings

• Chronicles of Elyria team hopes to avoid the ‘one-man economy’ pitfall

• Chronicles of Elyria on the purpose and mechanics of Kingdoms of Elyria’s fog of war

• Chronicles of Elyria boss outlines four-tier release for Kingdoms of Elyria standalone game

• Chronicles of Elyria is releasing Kingdoms of Elyria as a standalone product for backers

• Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria backers lodge lawsuit, Wagadu snags more funding

• Chronicles of Elyria says it’s focusing on settlement development in the short term

• Chronicles of Elyria clarifies art and comms as players vow their lawsuit will go forward

• Chronicles of Elyria is still in development, new video from Soulbound vows

• Soulbound Studios insists work on Chronicles of Elyria continues in pre-litigation paperwork response

• Chronicles of Elyria fans have filed the pre-litigation paperwork necessary to sue Soulbound Studios

• Chronicles of Elyria backers have now hired a lawyer to file a class action suit

• Chronicles of Elyria restores forums and gives parkour demo to all backers

• Chronicles of Elyria players allege that Xsolla is now stonewalling on refunds

• Chronicles of Elyria boss insists work on the game continues in spite of team layoff

• Make My MMO: Following Chronicles of Elyria reports, state attorney general addresses crowdfunding scams

• Chronicles of Elyria boss says development is still ongoing, still seeking funding

• Disgruntled Chronicles of Elyria backers seek aid from the Washington attorney general

• Vague Patch Notes: Chronicles of Elyria’s road to nowhere

• The Daily Grind: Are you angry about the collapse of Chronicles of Elyria?

• Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria becomes the highest-profile MMORPG Kickstarter to crash and burn

• Kickstarted MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria halts development, lays off all employees

source: LinkedIn, thanks to anonymous for the tip!