It has been nearly 10 months since the crowdfunded game TitanReach completely shut down development, after a miserable attempt at outfitting the game with blockchain technology and NFT’s. Now, a new studio has taken aim at TitanReach, and although Archage Studios LLC has insisted that they are in no way affiliated with Square Root Studios, some of the assets appear to have been co-opted for the resuscitated IP. With a lot of questions on the table, you have to wonder, what is going on with TitanReach?
For those that may have forgotten, TitanReach was an in-development indie game from Square Root Studios that has had a tumultuous past. Slated as being a subscription only title with a heavy focus on “old school” MMORPG mechanics, like a reliance on grouping and social aspects, the game ran into some major troubles near the end of 2021, when the team suspended development due to lack of funding. Square Root was adamant at that time that the game would not shut down, and not too long after, development restarted through the use of funds by a wealthy backer that decided to solely fund the remainder of development. TitanReach was originally slated to release in quarter 4 of 2022, which would have initially placed its final development and testing phases around the time of this very article.
Square Root Studios, however, would never see that come to fruition, as they shut down back in February of 2022, permanently, due to a supreme lack of funds, and from what we could tell, earnest direction of where the project was meant to go. On the way out of the proverbial door, on their discord, Square Root Studios detailed the vision the team had for the game, which devolved into some half-baked ideas about the utilization of NFT’s and blockchain. The premise of utilizing all items within a game as NFT’s is nothing new, but the use of blockchain in this way was in direct contrast to the original subscription based formula the team had decided on from the onset.
It was likely no surprise that the small fledgling studio was hesitant to go all-in on further development of their blockchain project in February of 2022, as the crypto market had begun its freefall, which has affected numerous projects across the industry. Shortly after the announcement that TitanReach was no more, Square Root Studios shut down the Discord, and removed all other traces of the game, until Archage Studios revived the Playtitanreach twitter account, and created a new Discord. Little is known about Archage Studios and the state of TitanReach at this point. We do know that Archage Studios has stated that they are in no way affiliated with Square Root Studios.
Hail, Titans!Take a look at the official Demo map, almost a whole year has gone into creating the perfect map to show off the features of Titan Reach and what it will have in the official version! #TitanReachTakeover #MMORPG #gaming pic.twitter.com/1FTh101hJe
— TitanReach (@PlayTitanReach) December 3, 2022
Despite utilizing some of the same designs, the team has expressed that they are aiming to tread on the ideas of the previous TitanReach, though to what end, we have yet to see. The California-based LLC hasn’t divulged their designs, apart from some concept art. It has been confirmed that at one point Archage Studios was in contact with Square Root Studios over some of the original assets, but Archage has since professed that the new TitanReach has been a complete rebuild of the game from the ground up. Archage Studios has also expressed that they have a lot to show players in the near future, and a new Kickstarter has been setup, and will launch December 13th, to fund further development.
We have reached out to the developers via Discord for clarification on the scope of the project, and we were able to speak to Jordan Sasse, who is the Director of Operations for TitanReach. Jordan stated that there are currently 6 developers on the project. Jordan explained that the development of the new TitanReach is more of a rebranding than an actual revitalization of an old project. Archage Studios has been developing Rise of Titans (not to be confused with Rise of the Titans) for the past 3 years. When TitanReach faltered, the team at Archage Studios decided to rebrand with the TitanReach intellectual property.
Titan Reach has been taken over by our studio, we are not affiliated with Square Root Studios in anyway.
— TitanReach (@PlayTitanReach) November 4, 2022
Archage Studios has seed funding of about 25K dollars, and their Kickstarter aims to reach their goal of 100K dollars to further development. Jordan stated that the team believes they will be able to further a good portion of their development on those funds, but they will continue to look for investors so that they can expand their team and increase the speed of development. Jordan also stated that, unlike Square Root Studios, Archage Studios will not be pursuing blockchain, NFTs or Crypto. The game will also have a dynamic class system, player housing, crafting, and an expansive skill system.
It was made clear that, while Archage Studios is unaffiliated with the original project, interested parties that generally support crowd funded games should proceed with caution, especially when a studio treads on the name of a game that failed so early in development. Jordan stated that he understands that the MMORPG public might be apprehensive about trusting their studio, but he believes that their fears will be laid to rest once they are able to see the progress their team has made over the past three years while they were working on Rise of Titans.
Hopefully, Archage Studios is better equipped to handle development of TitanReach and we hope that something good comes from the renewed development in a title that has so clearly been marred by unsatisfactory progress over the past two years.
