Trion Worlds

Trion Worlds was an American game publisher and developer founded in 2006 by Lars Buttler. The company raised approximately $185 million in total funding, making it one of the most heavily capitalized independent game studios of its era. Trion brought ArcheAge to Western markets in September 2014, developed the MMORPG Rift and the voxel game Trove, and was acquired and disbanded by Gamigo in October 2018.

Company history

Buttler founded Trion Worlds with the vision of creating a platform for multiple online games. The studio's first release was Rift (2011), an MMORPG that competed directly with World of Warcraft and launched to positive reviews. Trove, a voxel-based sandbox game, followed. At its peak, Trion employed several hundred people across offices in Redwood City, California and Austin, Texas.

ArcheAge publishing

Trion's ArcheAge launch in September 2014 was immediately troubled. DDoS attacks hit servers during headstart, Patron subscribers faced two-hour queues, and all desirable housing land was claimed before the general public could access the game. Trion compensated players with an extra month of patron time.

Over the following years, Trion progressively added power-relevant items to the cash shop despite the game being marketed as free-to-play without pay-to-win elements. The Thunderstruck tree controversy, the APEX exploit, and ongoing monetization complaints eroded player trust. CEO Scott Hartsman's denial of the APEX duplication bug before later acknowledging it became a touchstone moment for the community.

Class action lawsuit

In 2015, three players filed a class action lawsuit against Trion, alleging false advertising of a 10% founder perk cash shop discount. Trion had instead offered a 10% bonus on credit pack purchases, a different mechanic than what was advertised. The lawsuit also cited violations of California consumer protection law and California's illegal-lottery law regarding loot boxes.

The case dragged through years of arbitration. Trion's collapse in 2018 complicated proceedings. In January 2020, a settlement of $420,000 was reached with Gamigo (as Trion's successor). Payments were distributed to eligible players in August 2020.

Collapse and Gamigo acquisition

By 2018, Trion was struggling financially. The company had burned through most of its $185 million in funding. German publisher Gamigo acquired Trion Worlds and all its assets in October 2018. Staff were laid off on October 26, 2018, and the Trion Worlds brand ceased to exist. Gamigo continued publishing ArcheAge and Trove until Kakao Games took over ArcheAge publishing in December 2021.