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Square Enix has discontinued its game streaming service Core Online just 18 months after it first launched owing to “limited commercial take-up”.
The publisher’s support page claims that “Core Online was released as an experiment to see what demand there would be for HD games played via the browser. However, due to limited commercial take-up of this initiative, Core Online closed on Friday 29th November 2013.”
Square adds that it has “no plans to reopen this service”.
Core Online had allowed users to stream a range of classic Square titles directly through their browser, including Hitman: Blood Money, Tomb Raider: Underworld and Mini Ninjas.
Players were given the option to buy the games outright, pay $2.99 per month for unlimited access or play for free for up to 20 minutes per day.
Subscribers with an existing membership valid until the service’s closure “will receive a full refund for their most recent subscription payment”. However, Square states that those with “subscription periods [that] expired before the 29th November 2013 will not be entitled to a refund.”
The portal may also have been pulled to make way for Project FLARE, a cloud streaming service announced by the publisher last November that aims to provide new experiences only possible through the cloud.
VideoGamer.com has contacted Square for additional information.
Source: coreonline.com
