[Update 5:35PM PT] It looks like all that is being shut down is the Frontier World Server, as NCSOFT tells us that the Unreal Engine 4 Update will in fact still be releasing for Blade & Soul this summer. You can see that full report here.
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If you were looking forward to seeing Blade & Soul in all its Unreal Engine 4 glory, you might be a tad disappointed today as a new report states that NCSOFT will be shutting down the overhaul, with the server running the overhaul closing in May.
According to MMOCulture, the statement from Blade & Soul developer shuttering the Frontier World server where the current version of Blade & Soul Complete, the upgraded Unreal Engine 4 build, on May 6th of this year. The report cites NCSOFT being unable to show "satisfactory results" for the UE4 build.
Players in Korea were able to check out the Unreal Engine 4 upgrade build in progress on the Frontier World server, which launched in February 2020. However, with the server being shut down in May 2021, it looks like the final death knell for the upgrade project.
However, there is some silver lining, with the publisher promising something coming in June for Blade & Soul, teasing a "new beginning" for the MMO. Just what exactly that is remains to be seen, but given the recent earnings report showing the MMO's revenue steadily dropping, it's no surprise to see the UE4 client dropped it it wasn't performing the way the publisher was hoping. With Blade & Soul underperforming year on year since 2018, what this new beginning is will hopefully inject some new life into the MMO for NCSOFT.
