Uru: Ages Beyond Myst

Cancellation

Letter from Rand Miller about Uru Live (Feb. 2004). The "online worlds" are planned as expansion packs, a very unusual thing for an adventure game.

Uru Live fans and friends,

Thank you so much for your continued support of the worlds that are Myst and Uru. It has truly been wonderful immersing ourselves along with you in the ongoing adventure, following your comments - good and bad - as you explored Uru Live.

I have some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad news...

Uru Live is being put to bed.

Even with all of the time, money, resources, code, people, sweat, and heart that were poured into Uru Live, we needed a certain number of subscribers to pay the bills. We didn’t get there. Uru Live is innovative and unique; its online universe is one of the most beautiful and complex ever built, anywhere. The idea of ongoing content was dramatic and forward-looking, but it required a substantial continuing effort to sustain. We were just not able to sign up the number of subscribers (even for free) necessary to pay for that effort.

Now for the good news...

The soul of Uru Live will live larger.

The soul of Uru Live came in two parts: the community and the content. Both will live on. Nothing can kill the community - it has a life of its own. The Call and the Gathering of the community will continue. And the content - what can I say? We have it, large amounts of it, ready to expand the world of Uru. In the past weeks we’ve been hard at work packaging that content in a different, more inclusive form - expansion packs - the first of which will be available in a month or two. Even better, the first expansion pack, To D'ni, is free. And there’s more good news on inclusivity. I’m pleased to officially announce that the Mac version of Uru is finally under way.

It would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of this announcement. But we’ve grieved our loss, and with clearer minds we see things in a different light. The fact is that the continuing Uru adventure is amazing. The story and places it reaches are spectacular. And in the long run, we want as many people as possible to experience and explore these new worlds. The closing of Uru Live actually gives us the opportunity to open these expanding worlds to a larger audience, including those people without broadband. Only a small portion of the people who played Uru ever made it to D’ni in Uru Live. Now everyone can get to D'ni - and beyond.

Again, perhaps the ending has not yet been written.

Shorah,

Rand and the Cyan Worlds Team

Since the online, multiplayer portion of URU: Ages Beyond Myst was discontinued in 2004, links to that part of the game will no longer work. Players interested in continuing their adventures on-line should play Myst Online: Uru LIve.

Soundtrack

Peter Gabriel, of Genesis fame, was rather enthusiastic about the release of Uru, so one of his latest songs is actually featured in the game: Burn You Up, Burn You Down (The italian release even featured a sticker on the cover of Uru Collector's saying "Features a new song by Peter Gabriel!").

He did the same with Myst IV, but with a new song altogether, written specifically for the game.

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2003 – Best PC Adventure Game of the Year

Information also contributed by Jeanne and MDMaster