The Elder Scrolls: Legendsthe free card game set in the fantasy world of Bethesda, has been removed from sale on Steam. Its servers will close permanently on January 30, 2025, after which it will no longer be playable. The closure comes five years after the game’s last update.

The game Steam page displays a message at the top stating that it is “no longer available on the Steam store”. An in-game message announces the closure.

“The Elder Scrolls: Legends servers will be permanently closed on January 30, 2025,” the message begins. “By January 30, 2025, all store items and access to in-game events will be available for 1 gold each, so you can enjoy all the content Legends has to offer. At this time date, the servers will be closed and the game will be inaccessible. Thank you for playing and we hope you enjoyed your time in Legends.

Brendy wrote in his Elder Scrolls Legends Review that he “improved Heathstone incrementally”, elevated by its rune system and held back by its Elder Scrolls setting. It was 2017 and ongoing development on updates and expansions stopped. just two years later.

Obviously, Legends never found a huge, adoring audience, but as always, I find it infuriating that the live service and free games are just a slide of unpredictable length pointing straight to a trash can. No offline mode, no chance of finding an audience in the future, just: bin. It’s a terrible way to treat your customers, and a terrible thing for gaming culture in general, for so much work to be abandoned so easily. Is there any other media that is so myopic?