Developer Signal Studios announces that Microsoft has discontinued support for their game, “Ascend: Hand of Kul” and removed it from the Xbox Marketplace. The developer states that they only found out about this when they were investigating several issues that players had over the weekend. Microsoft has not released any statements regarding this matter yet.
“Ascend: Hand of Kul” is a free to play game that was first announced by Microsoft during E3 2012. It was released as an Xbox 360 exclusive in September 2013. A PC port followed in May 2014 and it is still available on Steam. Signal Studios offers a 25K souls (in-game currency) bonus to new “Ascend” PC players and a 10K souls bouns for existing players as appreciation.
“Ascend” is a third person RPG game that puts players in the role of a warrior that serves gods. One has to pledge allegiance to either the darkness, light or void god and to help that god rule of the world. The main enemies are Titans – large, immortal giants. Gamers have to defeat the Titans while defending from rival players’s attacks. Instead of classic single player and multiplayer modes, the game offers a parallel experience. Players go on their single player adventure and can see other players who are on their own single player campaigns.
Signal Studios, the developer of the game, is a studio comprised of industry veterans. They are the creators of the top selling XBLA title “Toy Soldiers”. Released in 2010, the game is available on Xbox 360 and PC and has two DLC’s. In 2011, the studios released a sequel, “Toy Soldiers: Cold War” for Xbox 360 and in 2014 they released “Toy Soldiers: Complete” for PC. The company is preparing a new addition to the franchise, titled “Toy Soldiers: War Chest”, slated for a 2015 release on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. The game will be published by Ubisoft.