Developer Netmarble has announced that Paragon: The Overprime, one of the many successors to the defunct multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Paragon, is shutting down, with service set to end in April.
If you’re not familiar with Paragon: The Overprime, it's a third-person MOBA that was released back in late 2022 for PC. Developed by Netmarble, the game used branding and assets from 2016’s Paragon and was intended to be something of a continuation of that game.
As explained by PC Gamer, when the original Paragon shut down in 2018, publisher Epic Games made the unusual decision to release a vast number of assets completely for free in their game engine Unreal Engine 4. This included character models, skins, voice lines, and tonnes of environmental assets, which prompted a handful of developers to try and create their own Paragon substitutes.
Among other titles, this included Predecessor by developer Omeda Studios which is currently still receiving updates as an early access release on Steam. Paragon: The Overprime is notable for receiving permission to use the Paragon name, but it doesn't appear as though that helped the game attract much of an audience.
After months of dwindling player counts, Netmarble has released an official blog post announcing the game’s end of service after just one year and three months. The developer says that this decision was taken “after careful consideration” and having “concluded that we will not be able to provide a stable and satisfying service moving forward.”
Service is set to end at exactly 00:00 EST on Monday, April 22, 2024, with the ability to make in-game purchases disabled at 00:00 EST yesterday (February 22, 2024). The company has expressed its disappointment at this turn of events, saying it is “deeply sorry for the unexpected and unfortunate termination of the service.”
Although Paragon: The Overprime never really found its footing, it’s still a bit of a shame to see it go like this. Hopefully, Predecessor can continue providing a Paragon-like experience going forward.
For some quality titles to help fill the Paragon: The Overprime-shaped void in your heart, see our guides to the best free games and the best multiplayer PC games.
