Just a few months after Shanda Games announced its determination to continue running RIFT China using the Pay-to-Play model and spending tens of millions on a ridiculous, unnecessary marketing campaign, the company has finally announced the game’s closure on 15th November 2013.
The reason given on the official announcement was “due to several reasons” without giving any more details. RIFT China last around 6 months, with RIFT Korea also closing earlier this year. From my point of view, RIFT was never suited for the Asian market from the very beginning.
Shanda Games will slowly shutdown several functions before 15th November, including cash top-up and gifts exchange and reimbursing players. Developer Trion Worlds is doing no better in recent times, with layoffs and a studio closed amidst many other rumors floating around.
