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Microsoft shuts down Project Spark online services on August 12

C

chadskin

Member
After much consideration, Microsoft and Team Dakota have decided to discontinue support for “Project Spark.”

Starting 5/13/16, “Project Spark” will no longer be available for download on the Xbox Marketplace or Windows Store. For existing users of “Project Spark,” online services will be unavailable after 8/12/16. Without services, players will no longer be able to download user-generated content or upload their own creations. If you want to access user-generated content offline, you will need to download this content prior to 8/12/16. Be sure to download your favorite community creations and your own uploads if they are not saved locally. We’re also aware that after transitioning “Project Spark” to be a free incubation engine last fall, that some players might still have purchased the game at retail, and have outlined steps about obtaining a credit for those players below.

This was an extremely difficult decision for our team that we do not take lightly. When "Project Spark" transitioned away from active development last fall, many of our team members moved to other projects within Microsoft Studios. While this means there have been no layoffs at Microsoft, it also means it’s simply no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping “Project Spark” up and running with meaningful updates and bug fixes, so we have come to this hard decision.

Despite this news, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of our team and community of creators and players. Our team released 46 content packs, thousands of assets and 16 updates since launch (averaging more than one update every two months). We produced hundreds of livestreams and videos to educate and celebrate our community. In turn, our passionate fans have then gone above and beyond supporting “Project Spark” by uploading hundreds of thousands of creations and dreaming up millions of objects, behaviors, and experiences. Outside the game, they created fan sites, tutorials, forums, apps, and more! We thank everyone who has played or created anything within “Project Spark,” as it would have never existed without you.

As mentioned earlier, for players who purchased and redeemed the “Project Spark Starter Kit” sold in retail outlets will receive a credit to their Microsoft account. If you purchased and redeemed the code inside a retail copy of “Project Spark” after Oct. 5, 2015 and before today, you will receive a credit that can be used to purchase content in the Xbox or Windows store. Credits will be granted automatically to eligible customers. For more information, please visit http://xbox.com/spark.

We can’t thank our creators and players enough. It’s been an incredible journey to share with you all!

Thomas Gratz
Community Manager
Click to expand...
http://forums.projectspark.com/yaf_postst214854.aspx
 
A

AAMARMO

Banned
IANICm.gif
 
A

AmethystEnd

Member
Krejlooc said:
you know people saved those and have private servers for them, right?
Click to expand...

I do. And I've looked into them in the past and for reasons I can't remember didn't attempt to get in.

Edit: Ah, that's right, I didn't have a modded ps2. But looking into it again now, apparently emulators will work. Hot damn.
 
G

GaussTek

Member
Besides Conker, are there some other good creations (official or user generated)? Would be cool to download them before it shuts down.
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Too bad it was so short lived. As a game it was rather limited, but as a toolbox for quick game development/prototyping, it was rather brilliant. Very simple to use but rich enough to produce almost any kind of game.
I wonder if their plan to convert it to an educational tool is still on track.
 
L

LUFTRAUSER

Banned
I forgot about Project Spark. I guess a lot of other people did too. I remember being a little excited when it was new because I used to play LittleBigPlanet but it just kinda never really got off the ground.
 
M

Millsington

Member
Sounded neat when revealed but Win8 exclusive so I passed. I guess it wasn't very popular. Can someone who spent some time with it explain what was wrong with it?

Nevertheless it's depressing that anyone who put a lot of time into it can never go back to it.
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Millsington said:
Sounded neat when revealed but Win8 exclusive so I passed. I guess it wasn't very popular. Can someone who spent some time with it explain what was wrong with it?
Click to expand...

I would say the main issue was the curation of the user generated creations. Too many clones, lazy remixes of other creations... the community wasn't that big, and the good creations had a hard time getting some visibility (unless you follow youtube streams I guess). Also achievements hunters plaguing the creations with dummy levels didn't help.
Also it shows how difficult making an original game from scratch can be. Many creations had great level design but generic gameplay, or vice versa.

I think the game really shines as a creation tool, and especially when they organized small gamejams with specific requirements. It's not really about the quality of the creations, but the fun you have while making them.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I think Dreams may be what Project Spark was attempting to create but maybe with a more artistic bent.
 
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