Soulbound Studios Has Shut Down, Chronicles of Elyria Lead Says He’s Looking for Work

Soulbound Studios, the developer behind the long-troubled crowdfunded MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria, has been dissolved. CEO and lead developer Jeromy Walsh confirmed on LinkedIn that he’s now looking for a new job after more than 11 years running the indie studio.

Walsh said he’s interested in joining a team again after years of handling engineering, product decisions, hiring, infrastructure, and the overall direction of the company. He also reflected on mistakes made as a manager, including hiring issues, delayed personnel decisions, micromanagement, and times when he didn’t provide enough direction.

Chronicles of Elyria was first pitched on Kickstarter in 2016 as an ambitious MMORPG built around aging characters, family lines, player-run kingdoms, and a persistent world shaped across generations. It raised significant crowdfunding money, but development became increasingly uncertain over the years.

Soulbound halted development in 2020 after burning through millions of dollars, then later returned with a revised plan, a licensing deal, and a roadmap that split the project into smaller pieces. The studio ran limited Kingdoms of Elyria testing, but long silences, missing dev blogs, and a disappearing web presence continued to frustrate backers.

The last public update on the game came in August, after another extended gap in communication. With Soulbound Studios now dissolved, there’s no clear path forward for Chronicles of Elyria or for players who backed or bought into the project. At this point, it appears unlikely the MMO will ever see a full release.