Ragnarok Online 2 Open Beta Delayed To January 3rd

The Ragnarok Online 2 open beta for English-speaking players was scheduled to launch yesterday, December 27th, with online games portal PlayPark and MMO publisher, Asiasoft Online, handling the game.

Unfortunately, it appears that the two companies weren’t fully prepared for the response the beta would receive from players. An overwhelming response from players caused “severe congestion” of the Ragnarok Online 2 open beta servers and websites, Asiasoft Online stated in a press release today.

As a result, the Ragnarok Online 2 open beta has been delayed to January 3rd. All open beta character data has also been wiped until the open beta starts over on the 3rd.

“After careful and deliberate consideration, Asiasoft has decided to reschedule OBT to 3rd January 2013 to ensure that all issues are resolved before the game proceeds any further and to prevent any further disappointment,” Asiasoft’s press release reads.

“The regretful decision to reset all character data with wipe just before the servers reopen official on 3rd January 2013 was also made in order for the publisher and game developers to be fair to the majority of players who were unable to access the game servers last night.”

Additionally, Sherman Tan, Chairman of Asiasoft Online, posted a lengthy message to the Ragnarok Online 2 Facebook page, offering his apologies for the complications and asking players for their understanding.

Part of Tan’s message reads: “We know that this decision will anger and upset many of our treasured players, and while we earnestly wish to cater to every single player’s wants and needs, our top priority remains in stabilising the game servers so that all Asgardians can enjoy it, and being as fair as possible to the majority of our players who were not at all able to access Open Beta on 27th December 2012. We seek your rational understanding of our very difficult decision and hope that you will accept our gravest apologies.”

Asiasoft Online will be conducting stress tests on Ragnarok Online 2 from now until the open beta begins again, in order to resolve server issues, and are inviting players to join the effort if they wish to help out.