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In the latest "up" of its roller-coaster existence, the massively multiplayer online game There was spun off Tuesday from its parent company, Forterra Systems.
The move means that There -- an open-ended virtual world in which members create much of the content, be it clothing, vehicles, amusements or other such things -- gets a new lease on life after more than a year on the endangered species list.
Longtime There investors and executives Michael Wilson and Steve Victorino have purchased an exclusive license to the intellectual property and assets associated with the game. Plus, Wilson and Victorino have decided to hire new engineering and customer support staff, crucial ingredients for a virtual world that requires constant maintenance and interaction with users. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We'll be able to change our focus from survival mode to a more strategic mode," said Wilson, "where we can look at what we want to do in the future and act in a more strategic fashion."
Now, said Wilson, the service will be bolstered with six additional engineers and an as-yet-undetermined number of customer support workers. Wilson will take over as CEO of There's new iteration, which will be controlled by his company, McKenna Technologies.
At the game's core is an elaborate in-world economy, in which players create, buy and sell all kinds of virtual goods. The economy is based on a stable exchange rate between U.S. dollars and the game's currency, There bucks.
Players can socialize and express themselves with avatars that boast hundreds of different emotional expressions and gestures. The game's graphics are impressive, and players travel in advanced vehicles like hoverboats or hoverboards made to look like medieval dragons.
There, which now charges a $5 annual subscription fee, was once a high-flying entrant into the MMO space that is now dominated by games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest and others. But in the last 18 months, the company has lost money and head count.
To There observers, the spinoff is a good sign, both for the game and for the MMO space in general.
"I think it's good validation," said Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, publisher of Second Life, an online environment similar to There. "The fact that the community of There.com continues to grow and evolve is an indication that the general idea of letting a community govern itself is a good idea."
Ron Meiners, an expert in online games, said he thinks that World of Warcraft's success demonstrates that thousands of new people are interested in playing online games. But the socialization aspect of games like There is still new and untapped.
"Absolutely the right thing to do is stick to that purely social vision," Meiners said of There. "I really think it can only grow as part of the 'normal' human experience."
Will Harvey, who founded There eight years ago but left the company last year to start IMVU, an avatar-based instant messaging application, said Wilson and Victorino's willingness to invest in the game is a sign that There may have a bright future.
"One of the most compelling things about There was the vision of what it could be," said Harvey. "That is what keeps all the employees up late at night and thinking about it in the shower. If Steve and Mike are committed and passionate about moving forward with the service, then the vision of future possibilities will bring a lot more energy back to There in all areas -- developers, users and employees."
There's parent company, Forterra, was formed last year after investors from several leading venture capital firms gave the then-dying There Incorporated $14 million to refocus its core business as a government and military contractor. Forterra proceeded to develop a multimillion dollar simulated world for the U.S. Army.
But while Forterra continued to fund There's consumer service, it didn't put many new resources into it, and for months the service has been operating with only two engineers and a skeleton customer support staff.
In October 2003, when it launched, the game was supported by hundreds of employees and more than $30 million in funding.
But several problems have brought the company to its knees. The game requires expensive video cards and broadband service that many users don't have. Also, many players lack the 3-D modeling skills necessary to create their own content. As players got bored, the company lost money and had to curtail its engineering and support staffs.
But Wilson thinks that There's fresh start will attract new players by satisfying existing members.
"The most important thing to Steve and I is the community," he said. "We're supporting the community by supporting the product and the service."
In addition, Wilson said, many more potential users now have broadband internet connections, and all new PCs are capable of running There's graphics-intensive software.
