Even a game left adrift by its developers can still have life — if the players refuse to let it sink.
When ATLAS first launched, it promised a sprawling pirate survival adventure across the open seas. While the initial magic was undeniable, bugs, poor communication from developers, and long stretches of inactivity led many to abandon ship. And yet — some of us stayed. Some of us still sail. Some of us are still building, battling, laughing, and logging in.
As the author of The Crimson Legacy series (and a longtime ATLAS player), I reached out to members of the Eclipse community to ask:
Why do you still play ATLAS, even though it's been abandoned?
🗣 “I’m not usually a captain…”
"I'm normally not a captain. I have the experience and can do it, but we’ve got better captains. I come back because the team I play with has been together for over four years.
We started on the Xbox server and we have a pretty good understanding of roles and what we each bring to the table. Having a team like that makes it easy to jump on and do your part, knowing the person who needs to do theirs is pulling their weight.
We have a 10% rule. Pull your weight. Everything needs to be done. We don't have a company leader — everyone is admin — and we trust the team we work with.
I love playing a game that's alive, that's going on right now while I do IRL stuff. I come back and it's changed. Maybe today I gather, or maybe I’m looking for other people’s stuff to blow up. I love a living, changing game."
🗣 “It’s the only game that gives me this much freedom…”
“I keep playing ATLAS because it is a survival game with boat and base building. It's the only game I've found where you can join up with your friends and go have amazing adventures — fighting bosses, doing treasure maps, and most of all… fighting other players and getting phat lootz!
The ground PvP is fun and there’s even a reason to tame and breed the animals. A good quality raid tame can change the flow of battle.
It almost feels like the defense on the island is a tower defense against other players. Builders can build, FPS guys can FPS, melee guys can melee, farmers can enjoy the solace of hashing out some rocks or trees, and the boat guys can go out and just 'shoot the shit' with each other lol."
🗣 “Enemies became allies…”
“I really gave the game a shot and set sail in ATLAS about two years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. What drew me in was the sheer scale of the world — the idea that I could build a ship from scratch, explore unknown waters, and carve out a life on the high seas. That, and my love for being a pirate and ruining people’s days.
The first few hours were rough, but once I found my rhythm and joined a company, the game truly came alive. I started off with some bobs, and funny enough, the people I play with now actually wiped me three different times. It’s wild how the people you hate the most can end up becoming your closest allies — and your friends can eventually become your enemies.
So what keeps me playing? The freedom and the unpredictability. One day I’m taming animals on a remote island, and the next I’m in the middle of a sea battle I didn’t see coming — or raiding someone’s base and making off with their loot.
No other game makes every decision feel this impactful. The community — chaotic, hilarious, brutal, and sometimes brilliant — is one of the most dynamic I’ve ever been part of.
ATLAS isn’t perfect, but it’s the only game where we’ve built empires, lost everything, and started over more times than I can count — and had fun every step of the way."
🗣 Author Reflection — Ambrose Fider
I continue to play ATLAS for the sheer love of the game. It’s not the broken mechanics that keep me coming back — it’s the call of the open ocean, the thrill of adventure, and the longing for a digital escape.
ATLAS introduced me to a world far beyond the one I live in — towering cliff sides, lush jungles, golden beaches, and vast, untamed seas. I fell in love with building intricate bases, taming creatures, and even setting up a message board in my in-game kitchen with a “quote of the day.” I had a timeout chair in the corner just for laughs and took great pride in keeping our food stores well-stocked and organized.
When mods were added that expanded recipes and ingredients, I was ecstatic. It meant I could cook better, plan PVP rations, and care for my crew in a way that made me feel like I belonged — like I mattered in this ever-shifting world. I’m not the best at PvP (truth be told, I panic and mash buttons), but I love the moments where my character feels like mine, and where I can support others in a meaningful way.
What’s made it all the more special is that I’ve shared this world with my husband. Gaming was always more his thing — I’m more the crafty, creative type — and stepping into a video game environment felt a bit foreign at first. But I gave it a go, learned it, and found that we had something new we could enjoy together. Something that connected us. Each season brings something new to learn, and I’m still learning — side by side with him.
The boss fights and mythical elementals have added a brilliant layer of challenge and wonder to the game. There’s a sense of awe facing off against these powerful beings — a reminder that this world still holds magic and mystery.
I may not be a stellar captain like Ambrose Fider, the heroine of my books, but I’m one heck of a repair gal — and in ATLAS, that counts for something. Because at the end of the day, it’s about the memories made, the friendships forged, and the moments shared.
If you close your eyes for just a moment and let the weight of the world fall away,
you can almost smell the salty sea breeze.
That’s why I still sail.
🗣 Bonus Reflections (anonymous)
"I keep playing for the chaos. Plans get tossed out the window the moment something unexpected happens — and something always happens."
"I’ve met people in this game that I now talk to daily. The community can be brutal, but it’s also the most alive place I’ve found in any online world."
"Even after all this time, there’s nothing like launching a galleon at sunset and just seeing where the wind takes you."
🌊 Final Thoughts
ATLAS may have been left behind by its creators, but it hasn’t been abandoned by its community. There are still players out here — building, battling, taming, laughing, arguing, and trying again.
So the next time someone asks why you're still playing ATLAS?
You can tell them:
The game may be broken, but the friendships aren’t.
Until next time Lovelies!
Always, Ambrose Fider