Erepublik Labs Shutting Down

Day 1,594, 09:45 • Published in USA USA • by Rick von Ruger
Erepublik Labs inc announced late saturday that the company will be shutting down for good. Known for their hit online game eRepublik, Erepublik Labs was founded in October 2008 by Alexis Bonte and George Lemnaru. Revenue was collected by selling virtual gold within the game on an international basis. Despite their rocky income figures over the past several years, investors dubiously sunk nearly three million euros into the company. Erepublik Labs CEO Alexis Bonte reported that the company is now facing a series of lawsuits by former players for deceptive advertising, falsely labeling pricing on their virtual currency, and in a few cases customers never received gold after purchase. In the midst of such an investigation, audits reveal that a large portion of the company's value is missing. George Lemnaru, who has seldom been seen since the investigation began, is now suspected of embezzling over one million euros from the company accounts over the course of three and a half years.

When asked about the future of the game, an official eRepublik spokesperson was quoted as saying "It's pretty much over." With so much controversy surrounding the company which owns it, it is hard to imagine a situation where the game can survive. In an interview, one developer noted that the servers would be online for at least another week, after which they will be unavailable. "It was a great run," Alexis Bonte was quoted as saying on March 31, "but now the time has come to move on to new things." As for all the players, they will receive an in-game notice about the eminent shutdown, as well as told to 'get a life you nerds.'

link to article