When last we heard from Chronicles of Elyria, Soulbound Studio’s Jeromy Walsh explained that the company was once again struggling financially and that he has been prepping for “another round of conversations with investors and publishers, as well as exploring opportunities for residual income for [himself] or the studio.” That reveal came after an April Discord stream during which Walsh bizarrely blamed the indie MMO press, including us, for covering Elyria’s many red-flag issues (you know, doing our job) as well as, inexplicably, for the crushing layoffs afflicting the industry (I assure you, if we had that kind of power or money, that’s not how we would use it).

In any case, public information on the current version of Elyria and its spinoffs has continued to decline over the course of the year, as Walsh apparently moved more and more behind closed doors and NDAs, which as we pointed out at the time was not in the spirit of the $1.3M Kickstarter. But now he’s finally back with a public memo, and he claims that Elyria’s pre-alpha is coming along.

“Development on Chronicles of Elyria and its pre-Alpha experiences, including Kingdoms of Elyria, has been progressing steadily behind the scenes. Updates in the Early Access channel on our official Discord have become more frequent and detailed, with some days seeing multiple updates. I’ve also hosted live Q&A sessions with Early Access and Alpha 1 backers, live-streamed parts of my development process, and posted check-in submissions of the work I’ve been doing. Things are rapidly moving forward, and I’m excited that some backers will be diving into new testing experiences early next year.”

Of course, since none of what is being described here is public, none of it is verifiable by anyone who isn’t locked behind an NDA. There’s also next to no chatter in the public areas of the Discord (Walsh says “while seemingly silent, I’m currently very active in the early access channel”), and while the Kingdoms of Elyria Reddit mod popped up a month ago to insist that Walsh was posting daily, other Redditors’ requests for clarity on what’s going on have been met mostly with crickets. At this point, until people come forward, we don’t really know whether this special backer group exists and how many people are in it, let alone what’s actually being demoed for it and whether it constitutes forward movement, plus some folks who Kickstarted for alpha access claim they haven’t been able to get in. Big shrug there.

The rest of the blog post details an update to the game’s website and a new account verification system that will apparently lock even more info away from public feeds, as reading the forum and dev blogs will require registration and purportedly allow the studio to “focus exclusively on the backers while informing the broader community of important news.”

Source: Official site. Cheers, Felix! Chronicles of Elyria, which was Kickstarted all the way back in 2016, stunned MMO gamers in 2020 by announcing it was out of money, had laid off the devs, had closed Soulbound Studio, and had ended development on the game. Though CEO Jeromy Walsh later retracted much of that and said the game was still in production with volunteer staff, the gamers who’d backed it for $14M+ in crowdfunds pressed on with a lawsuit that was dismissed in 2022. Since 2021, the remaining team has focused on multiple spinoffs and tucked away most of the core MMO’s progress behind backer paywalls and NDAs.

Further reading:
• Chronicles of Elyria dev addresses fumbled deadlines, the missing website, and press coverage • Chronicles of Elyria’s dev blogs disappear, and there’s no timeline for when they’ll return • Chronicles of Elyria’s Jeromy Walsh holds a ‘fireside chat’ that’s long on promise but short on timelines • Chronicles of Elyria shifts development roadmap of its six different pieces based on feedback • Chronicles of Elyria claims that over 90% of fans still want the MMO • Chronicles of Elyria begins alpha testing… a feedback form • Chronicles of Elyria studio tosses ‘quick release’ strategy after inking a licensing deal • Chronicles of Elyria boss explains how Soulbound burned through nearly $7M in three years • Chronicles of Elyria claims its Soulborn Engine ‘is a functional MMO engine once again’ • Chronicles of Elyria dev insists it will ‘return as a full-fledged MMO in no time’ • Chronicles of Elyria dev again recaps backend work, saying ‘the core platform is nearing completion’ • Chronicles of Elyria apologizes for ‘toxic’ Discord, aims to test Kingdoms of Elyria again soon • Chronicles of Elyria boss insists Kingdoms of Elyria: Settlements will ship in 2023 in spite of lawsuit appeal • Chronicles of Elyria dev celebrates dismissal of backer lawsuit as next phase of ‘hero’s journey’ • Chronicles of Elyria admits to running out of money in 2021, ‘hemorrhaging cash’ ever since • Chronicles of Elyria says the mid-alpha test phase will roll out this spring, addresses stock assets • Chronicles of Elyria is now estimating a late 2024 release • Chronicles of Elyria’s subreddit reopens, promising ‘no more censorship from Soulbound Studios’ • Gamers’ class-action against Chronicles of Elyria studio proceeds, suit against Xsolla deferred • The Chronicles of Elyria class-action lawsuit has been split up between two states now • Chronicles of Elyria tweaks NDA, locks down Reddit over death threats, and proposes NFT land trades • Chronicles of Elyria backers sound the alarm on class action waiver in new NDA • Kingdoms of Elyria colony sim alpha test starts on July 6 • Chronicles of Elyria talks rebuilding trust in backer Q&A as the consumer lawsuit continues • Chronicles of Elyria previews Kingdoms of Elyria gameplay, outlines the path to alpha • Chronicles of Elyria previews its Kingdoms of Elyria alpha • Chronicles of Elyria dev answers backers’ Kingdoms of Elyria questions • Chronicles of Elyria developer offers a look at Milestone 2 features coming to side game Kingdoms of Elyria • Chronicles of Elyria, now back up to five devs, examines its development achievements and shortcomings • Chronicles of Elyria team hopes to avoid the ‘one-man economy’ pitfall • Chronicles of Elyria on the purpose and mechanics of Kingdoms of Elyria’s fog of war • Chronicles of Elyria boss outlines four-tier release for Kingdoms of Elyria standalone game • Chronicles of Elyria is releasing Kingdoms of Elyria as a standalone product for backers • Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria backers lodge lawsuit, Wagadu snags more funding • Chronicles of Elyria says it’s focusing on settlement development in the short term • Chronicles of Elyria clarifies art and comms as players vow their lawsuit will go forward • Chronicles of Elyria is still in development, new video from Soulbound vows • Soulbound Studios insists work on Chronicles of Elyria continues in pre-litigation paperwork response • Chronicles of Elyria fans have filed the pre-litigation paperwork necessary to sue Soulbound Studios • Chronicles of Elyria backers have now hired a lawyer to file a class action suit • Chronicles of Elyria restores forums and gives parkour demo to all backers • Chronicles of Elyria players allege that Xsolla is now stonewalling on refunds • Chronicles of Elyria boss insists work on the game continues in spite of team layoff • Make My MMO: Following Chronicles of Elyria reports, state attorney general addresses crowdfunding scams • Chronicles of Elyria boss says development is still ongoing, still seeking funding • Disgruntled Chronicles of Elyria backers seek aid from the Washington attorney general • Vague Patch Notes: Chronicles of Elyria’s road to nowhere • The Daily Grind: Are you angry about the collapse of Chronicles of Elyria? • Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria becomes the highest-profile MMORPG Kickstarter to crash and burn • Kickstarted MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria halts development, lays off all employees