Not long ago we reported on a hiccup that the team behind the retro Ultima inspired MMORPG Ashen Empires encountered as they attempted to release their game on Steam. Now, just a few short weeks later, Iron Will Games has released a steam version of not only Ashen Empires, but the prelude to it, named Dransik.
The world of Dransik was originally created back in 1998 and was the inspiration for Ashen Empires which also takes place in the world of Dransik. In 2006, Iron Will Games acquired and continued development on both properties and brought them back. In 2009 Ashen Empires changed from a subscription model to a free to play model with in game purchases.
Both games would easily be considered retro by today’s standards, with Dransik utilizing a 2D pixelized art style reminiscent of early games like The Legend of Zelda and Ultima I – V. Ashen Empires, which was originally developed in 2002 may still look dated, but provides updated graphics and an isometric view, which was similar to other popular MMORPGs at the time such as Ultima Online and RuneScape. Now, over a decade later, both Dransik and Ashen Empires have released on Steam.
If you’re interested in jumping into the game, you can head over to Steam on the Dransik or Ashen Empires respective Steam pages. To prep for the game, you may also want to read through the comprehensive wiki for Dransik or the Ashen Empires official site. As of this article, the official Ashen Empires website is down for maintenance, but the team intends to have it back up and in working order soon. Currently, Ashen Empires sits at a 77% positive rating on Steam, and averages about 300 players daily. Hopefully, Iron Will Games will keep up their development and entice players looking to take part in some vintage MMORPG gaming to come back for a spell.
