Project Spark, Microsoft’s Xbox One game about making games, is about to fade into the dark. A community manager for Project Spark announced (opens in new tab) the news late last Friday, and the title has already been removed from the Xbox Marketplace, with online services scheduled to shut down on August 12.
I’m not terribly surprised at the news of Project Spark’s demise. It was an ambitious concept, but also a little hard to grasp. It existed somewhere between engine software and full-fledged game, allowing users to create worlds, movies, or their own games. Think Minecraft meets LittleBigPlanet (opens in new tab) and you’ve got a rough idea of Spark’s general feel. Unfortunately, not even the addition of a campaign starring Conker (a sequel to Bad Fury Day called “Conker’s Big Reunion”) was enough to keep Project Spark going.
If you already downloaded the game and want to keep access to your favorite community creations, be sure to download them before August – otherwise they too will become but a memory.