Yesterday Stone Blade Entertainment launched a new Kickstarter Campaign to fund the creation of an all-new free-to-play version of Ascension for the PC and Android platforms.
Playdek’s iOS-only version of the game has been the only digital version of the game available for quite some time, leaving players on other platforms out in the cold. Stone Blade Entertainment is hoping to rectify this by launching their $125,000 Kickstarter campaign (which at the time of writing, just one day in, is already at 43% of its goal with 10 days to go).
The new version would not only be free-to-play, it would have new features like online tournaments, campaign mode, and more. The biggest concern to iOS players is “What will happen to the current iOS release?” and “Will iOS players be able to compete cross-platform?”
Obviously the folks at Stone Bridge have anticipated these concerns and addressed them in the FAQ section of the campaign:
What about Playdek? Why aren’t you working with them to do this?
Playdek did a fantastic job on the iOS version of Ascension, but their attention is split amongst a variety of licenses. We want to build a team dedicated to Ascension Online so we can add all of the new features we want and ensure faster content releases.
What will happen with Ascension on iOS?
Our partnership with Playdek will continue and will include the release of Immortal Heroes in June and new promo packs later this year. We are working with Playdek to find the best way to either add features like cross-platform play, etc. to the current app or to transition users to a newly released app with all the features we are promising in this kickstarter. Both Playdek and Stone Blade are committed to supporting our fans on all platforms!
Having just recently started playing the iOS version of Ascension myself, I will be watching this one closely to see where it goes. I have also purchased all of the currently available expansion packs, so I hope that Playdek and Stone Blade can find a way to apply these purchases to whatever new form the iOS release takes (if any).
