{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox video game | title = Worlds Adrift | developer = [[Bossa Studios]] | publisher = Bossa Studios | platforms = [[Microsoft Windows]] | engine = [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]] | release = Cancelled | genre = [[Massively multiplayer online|MMO]] [[Sandbox game|sandbox]] | modes = [[Multiplayer]] |image = Worlds Adrift (Cover).jpg |caption = |alt = }} '''''Worlds Adrift''''' was a [[Massively multiplayer online game|massively multiplayer]] sandbox video game, set in a massive world that is permanently changed by players' actions. Developed and published by [[Bossa Studios]], the game entered early access on PC through [[Steam (service)|Steam]] in mid-July 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://massivelyop.com/2016/01/11/worlds-adrift-gears-up-for-an-exciting-2016/|title=Worlds Adrift gears up for an exciting 2016|last=Olivetti|first=Justin|date=2016-01-11|website=Massively Overpowered|publisher=Overpowered Media Group, LLC|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024738/https://massivelyop.com/2016/01/11/worlds-adrift-gears-up-for-an-exciting-2016/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the conclusion of the "End of the world" in-game event, Worlds Adrift was discontinued on July 26, 2019, by Bossa Studios, who cited the game being no longer commercially viable as the reason for its shutdown.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://support.bossastudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001675557-The-End-of-Worlds-Adrift |title=The End of Worlds Adrift |access-date=2023-09-23 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529203955/https://support.bossastudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001675557-The-End-of-Worlds-Adrift |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Gameplay == Players could explore the game's vast [[open world]] of floating islands, where all in-game objects have their own weight and real-time physics. ''Worlds Adrift'' allowed the player to harvest resources and free-build an airship of any size and shape to traverse the world. Due to the game's focus on physics, features of the ship, such as the number and placement of hull material, propulsion systems and where the player stood on the ship in flight, would have an effect on the ship's handling, fuel consumption and speed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.destructoid.com/soar-the-island-filled-skies-of-worlds-adrift-313407.phtml|title=Soar the island-filled skies of Worlds Adrift|last=Devore|first=Jorgan|date=2015-10-01|website=[[Destructoid]]|publisher=Enthusiast Gaming|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=May 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531232358/https://www.destructoid.com/soar-the-island-filled-skies-of-worlds-adrift-313407.phtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Ships were constructed by creating a "ship frame" using an in-game program called "3DS Shipmax," then attaching various parts to the frame once it is built. The various floating islands present in the game that could be explored were created by players in an external software engine called Worlds Adrift Island Creator that came bundled with the game itself and could be installed as a separate program. Bossa Studios had hinted at the presence of a planetary core miles beneath the orbiting clouds, but any player attempting to travel towards this would die long before coming close to anything resembling a core.
== Plot == The game's plot was fragmented and incomplete with tiny snippets of background information about the world and its history being learned from scanning various in-game objects. The game hints that the floating islands distributed throughout the game were once part of a planetary crust, but a [[Extinction event|cataclysm]] shattered the planet into multiple islands that floated through the atmosphere. The islands float due to an "Atlas Crystal" that is embedded in the islands' impenetrable rock. Atlas crystals were minerals once mined by the ancient precursor civilisation referenced in Worlds Adrift's lore and were valued for their anti-gravity properties. A previous race that built the various in-game ruins is hinted at, but there was no contact between the players and any surviving members of this precursor civilisation.
== Development == ''Worlds Adrift'' was announced by Bossa Studios on December 19, 2014,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/worlds-adrift-is-a-physics-based-multiplayer-game-from-the-i-am-bread-studio/|title=Worlds Adrift is a physics-based multiplayer game from the I Am Bread studio|last=Chalk|first=Andy|date=2014-12-19|website=[[PC Gamer]]|publisher=[[Future plc]]|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710133651/https://www.pcgamer.com/worlds-adrift-is-a-physics-based-multiplayer-game-from-the-i-am-bread-studio/|url-status=live}}</ref> by Bossa Studios' founder Henrique Olifiers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-12-19-surgeon-simulator-dev-reveals-physics-based-multiplayer-game-worlds-adrift|title=Surgeon Simulator dev reveals physics-based multiplayer game Worlds Adrift|last=Matulef|first=Jeffrey|date=2014-12-19|website=[[Eurogamer]]|publisher=Gamer Network|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024739/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-12-19-surgeon-simulator-dev-reveals-physics-based-multiplayer-game-worlds-adrift|url-status=live}}</ref> The concept for the game came from a [[game jam]] event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/videos/how-surgeon-simulator-and-i-am-bread-were-made/2300-6423442/|title=How Surgeon Simulator and I am Bread Were Made|last1=O'Dwyer|first1=Danny|last2=Haywald|first2=Justin|last3=Mihoerck|first3=Dan|last4=Tay|first4=Erick|last5=Kish|first5=Mary|last6=Shaw|first6=Josh|date=2015-02-18|website=[[GameSpot]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024728/https://www.gamespot.com/videos/how-surgeon-simulator-and-i-am-bread-were-made/2300-6423442/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The game's complex persistent world is run by a cloud-based operating system called SpatialOS created by a UK-based company named Improbable.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/simulating-the-real-world-online|title=The next step for games? Simulate the entire world|last=Nave|first=Kathryn|date=2016-01-12|magazine=[[Wired UK]]|publisher=[[Condé Nast]]|accessdate=2018-09-21}}</ref> SpatialOS allows a simulated world, with a day and night cycle, to be inhabited by millions of complex entities in a real-time environment. The program's "worlds" can span massive regions of digital space (processing power per cubed kilometer ratio), contain millions of individually simulated entities with complex behavior, and run across thousands of servers in the cloud.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/11/probable-spatial-os/|title=Improbable Launches Spatial OS, An Operating System For Next-Level Data Simulation|last=Russell|first=Jon|date=2015-11-11|website=[[TechCrunch]]|publisher=[[Oath Inc.]]|accessdate=2016-05-05|archive-date=September 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919121908/https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/11/probable-spatial-os/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Development ceased on July 26, 2019, due to being "no longer commercially viable" with a lack of interest from new players.<ref>https://support.bossagames.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001675557-The-End-of-Worlds-Adrift</ref>
== Reception == ''Worlds Adrift'' was once referred to as "The ''[[Minecraft]]'' for a new generation" by Angus Morrison of ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/edge-287-just-cause-3-sparks-revolution-open-world-action-games/|title=Edge 287: Just Cause 3 sparks a revolution for open-world action games|author=Edge staff|date=2015-11-18|website=[[GamesRadar+]]|publisher=[[Future plc]]|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024402/https://www.gamesradar.com/edge-287-just-cause-3-sparks-revolution-open-world-action-games/|url-status=live}}</ref> Brandin Tyrrel at ''[[IGN]]'' also cited the game as "''Worlds Adrift'' is one of the most ambitious physics games I've ever seen."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/11/16/worlds-adrift-the-most-ambitious-pirate-game-since-black-flag|title=Worlds Adrift: The Most Ambitious Pirate Game Since Black Flag|last=Tyrrel|first=Brandin|date=2015-11-16|website=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|accessdate=2016-05-04|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024938/https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/11/16/worlds-adrift-the-most-ambitious-pirate-game-since-black-flag|url-status=live}}</ref>
The game was nominated for the "Creativity" and "Heritage" awards at [[The Independent Game Developers' Association]] Awards 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tiga.org/news/tiga-announces-games-industry-awards-2018-finalists|title=TIGA Announces Games Industry Awards 2018 Finalists|last=Stephenson|first=Suzi|date=2018-09-19|website=[[The Independent Game Developers' Association]]|accessdate=2018-09-21|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180922010642/http://tiga.org/news/tiga-announces-games-industry-awards-2018-finalists|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tiga.org/awards/2018-winners|title=2018 Winners|website=[[The Independent Game Developers' Association]]|date=2018-11-01|accessdate=2018-11-02|archive-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181103110952/http://tiga.org/awards/2018-winners|url-status=live}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|https://www.worldsadrift.com/}}
[[Category:2017 video games]] [[Category:Bossa Studios games]] [[Category:Inactive massively multiplayer online games]] [[Category:Open-world video games]] [[Category:Windows games]] [[Category:Multiplayer video games]] [[Category:Windows-only games]] [[Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom]]