Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues
Catnip Games · Catnip Games
Richard Garriott's Kickstarted, Ultima-in-all-but-name sandbox — a virtue-driven world of open-world housing, hundreds of player-owned towns and deep classless crafting, kept alive on a monthly release cadence by a skeleton crew long after the hype faded.
Worth playing in 2026?
Worth a look, with caveatsShroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues in 2026 scores 56/100 on the overall lens — updates keep coming, and reviews aggregate to 58/100. Its crafting and economy depth is about as good as the genre offers. The monetization is the asterisk: pay-to-win perception sits at 4/5.
Worth it if
- ✓ Ultima devotees who want Garriott's virtue-driven world in MMO form
- ✓ Players who live for housing, decorating and player-run town-building
- ✓ Crafters and player-economy tinkerers who don't mind a small, aged world
Skip it if
- ✗ pay-to-win is a dealbreaker for you (perception 4/5)
- ✗ you want your time respected — grind is high
- ✗ heavy, off-putting monetization: prime housing lots cost hundreds of real dollars, in-game gold and tax are buyable with premium currency, and funding now leans on $18–$27/mo subscriptions
- ✗ tiny population — the open world and most player towns feel empty outside scheduled events
Composed from this page's data — score, update cadence, monetization — not from a reviewer's mood. Same inputs as the tier list.
What it costs to start
Free to start- · Free to download and play — no purchase required
- · Optional subscription adds perks or removes limits
- · Free to play with the full single-player story and land access; no mandatory subscription
- · Optional subscriptions (~$18 and ~$27/mo tiers, added 2024) are now the studio's main funding source
- · Prime housing lots and property deeds can run into the hundreds of real dollars; upkeep is a gold tax payable with premium currency (Crowns of the Obsidians)
- · Budget warning: heavy cash-shop pressure (P2W perception 4/5)
Prices and bundles change — verify on the official site ↗.
Business model
Combat
World design
Platforms
Housing
Update cadence
Steam Deck
Cross-play
Cross-progression
Profile facts verified 2026-07-21 · monetization verified 2026-07-21
Time commitment
Low chore pressure = the game doesn't punish missed days. Editorial assessments · verified 2026-07-21.
Review scores
Population activity
Sourced, dated observations — never an estimate. Different sources measure different things and are never combined.
No verified public player count is available. MMOlist does not estimate MMO populations — an absence of public numbers is not evidence that a game is inactive.
Related context (not a player count)
Data as of 2026-10-30.
Live data refreshed 2026-10-30 · refreshes daily
Gameplay profile
Editorial scales · verified 2026-07-21
Pros & cons
- ✓ Genuinely deep sandbox systems — open-world housing, 489+ player-owned towns, five-branch crafting and a classless skill-based build tree
- ✓ The most literal Ultima spiritual successor going, with virtue questlines and a fully soloable single-player story
- ✓ Steady monthly content releases from Catnip Games years after most expected the servers to go dark
- ✗ Heavy, off-putting monetization: prime housing lots cost hundreds of real dollars, in-game gold and tax are buyable with premium currency, and funding now leans on $18–$27/mo subscriptions
- ✗ Tiny population — the open world and most player towns feel empty outside scheduled events
- ✗ Aged, poorly optimized client (town lag, crashes) and a divisive card/deck combat system that critics never warmed to
Best for
- Ultima devotees who want Garriott's virtue-driven world in MMO form
- Players who live for housing, decorating and player-run town-building
- Crafters and player-economy tinkerers who don't mind a small, aged world
Notes & links
Kickstarted in 2013 (~$1.9M) by Richard Garriott's Portalarium as a spiritual successor to Ultima; Steam Early Access November 2014, full launch March 27, 2018, free-to-play since October 2018. Development transferred to Catnip Games in October 2019, which has shipped steady monthly 'Release' updates since (R151 in June 2026). In September 2024 Catnip added $18 and $27 monthly subscription tiers, now the studio's primary revenue. Live Steam/critic numbers will overlay the placeholder metrics on the next stats refresh.
Sources
Guilds recruiting
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Frequently asked questions
▸Is Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues free to play?
Yes — free to start. Free to download and play — no purchase required. Optional subscription adds perks or removes limits. Free to play with the full single-player story and land access; no mandatory subscription.
▸Is Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues worth playing in 2026?
Worth a look, with caveats. Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues in 2026 scores 56/100 on the overall lens — updates keep coming, and reviews aggregate to 58/100. Its crafting and economy depth is about as good as the genre offers. The monetization is the asterisk: pay-to-win perception sits at 4/5.
▸How many people play Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues? Is it dead?
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues's official servers are online, but no verified total player count is publicly available. MMOlist shows sourced activity observations — such as Steam concurrent players where a source exists — in the Population activity section rather than estimating a total. An absence of public numbers is not evidence that a game is dead.
▸Is Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues pay-to-win?
Many players say yes — spending gives meaningful advantages, and the pay-to-win criticism is common.
▸What platforms is Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues on?
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is available on PC, Mac, Linux.
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