Square Enix’s game streaming service Core Online, which allowed gamers to play HD titles via their browser, has been closed down after only 18 months. The publisher announced the news in a post on their support page.
Core Online allowed 20 minutes of game time each day for free, or unlimited play for a monthly fee. Tomb Raider Underworld and Hitman: Absolution were among the games available.
Here’s what Square had to say about the closure.
We launched Core®Online as an experiment to see what demand there would be for HD games played via the browser – whether gamers would welcome games on that platform, whether new business models might be of interest. We were pleased with the advances in technology we managed to make in the creation of the Core®Online platform but due to limited commercial take-up of this initiative it’s no longer something we will be supporting and Core®Online will be closing on Friday 29th November 2013.
The same post goes on to reassure customers who have purchased a recent subscription to the service will receive a full refund, as long as it did not expire before 29 November 2013. There are no plans to re-open the service.