Microsoft shuts down Project Spark, online services stay up until August

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It’s official now: after a lot of speculation in recent moths, Microsoft finally decided to shut down its game creation tool Project Spark for good. Starting this week, Project Spark won’t be available on Windows 10 or Xbox One anymore, and developers who were used to this tool will have to find another platform to create games.

Project Spark Community Manager Thomas Gratz confirmed the game was removed from both Windows 10 and Xbox One Stores, and that all online services will be completely shut down August 12. Once online services are down, users will no longer be able to upload their creations or download additional content.

“This was an extremely difficult decision for our team that we do not take lightly. When “Project Spark” transitioned away from active development last fall, many of our team members moved to other projects within Microsoft Studios. While this means there have been no layoffs at Microsoft, it also means it’s simply no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping “Project Spark” up and running with meaningful updates and bug fixes, so we have come to this hard decision.” said Gratz.

This probably happened because Project Spark failed to reach its potential. The software maker had high hopes for the project, which allowed users to create a game within a game, but it apparently wasn’t popular enough.

Microsoft also said that it would offer players who purchased “Project Spark Starter Kit” in retail stores some sort of refund. Those who purchased the game in retail outlets will receive a credit, which can be used to purchase other apps or games from the Windows Store or Xbox Marketplace.

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