Zenith: The Last City and Nexus Set for Permanent Server Shutdown on PS VR2 and PC This December
The journey is officially coming to an end for one of virtual reality's most ambitious massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Independent studio Ramen VR has announced that Zenith: Nexus and its original MMORPG campaign, Zenith: The Last City, will permanently shut down their servers on Friday, December 18, 2026, at 10:00 AM PST (1:00 PM EST / 6:00 PM GMT). Following more than four years online across PC VR, Meta Quest, and as a console-exclusive MMO within the PlayStation ecosystem on PS VR and PS VR2, the live-service title will become completely inaccessible once the servers go dark.
Two Years on Life Support After Content Development Ended
In an official statement shared on Steam and the game's website, Ramen VR outlined the financial realities behind the closure. Back in July 2024, the studio made the difficult call to halt new content development, citing ongoing challenges with player retention and the steep infrastructure costs required to sustain a full-scale VR MMO.
One final major update, Season 4: Golden Isles, launched on August 27, 2024, delivering community-requested quality-of-life improvements alongside a permanent price reduction for The Last City DLC from $29.99 down to $9.99 USD. Even after active customer support wound down in September 2024, the developers kept the servers running for more than two years so remaining guilds could continue playing together. Ultimately, Ramen VR noted that it is simply no longer feasible to keep operating the servers at a financial loss.
Delisting Timeline and Final Server Closure Dates
The wind-down process is taking place across three key milestones on the PlayStation Store, Steam, and the Meta Horizon Store:
- Effective Wednesday, October 21, 2026: All new sales of the paid Zenith: The Last City expansion and Zennies (the in-game premium currency) have officially ended across all platforms.
- Wednesday, November 18, 2026: The free-to-play base version, Zenith: Nexus (which includes the Infinite Realms mode), will be removed for new accounts. After this date, new users will no longer be able to download the game.
- Friday, December 18, 2026, at 10:00 AM PST: Permanent server shutdown. All online services will go offline and the game will no longer be playable.
Existing players who already own or have downloaded the game will retain full access and can spend any remaining Zennies in their inventory right up until the December 18 cutoff. However, Ramen VR confirmed in its official FAQ that there are no plans for an offline mode or community-hosted server tools at this time. The lack of a preservation path once again highlights why lawmakers are pushing digital game ownership rules to keep titles playable after servers close.
A Notable Console MMO Loss for PlayStation VR2
Originally released on January 27, 2022, Zenith: The Last City quickly became a breakout VR hit, topping the Steam VR charts at launch by blending anime-inspired swordplay, spellcasting, climbing, and gliding in a shared open world. While playable on PC and standalone Quest headsets, the game served as a console exclusive for PlayStation headsets, debuting on the original PS VR before arriving as a day-one launch title for PlayStation VR2 on PS5 on February 22, 2023, complete with headset haptics and adaptive trigger support.
In February 2024, the studio pivoted the project into Zenith: Nexus, introducing the free-to-play procedural action hub Infinite Realms while shifting the original MMO campaign into a paid add-on. While the overhaul aimed to bring in fresh players, it struggled to reverse the long-term server costs that have now sealed the project's fate.
My Take
Watching Zenith power down for good is a bittersweet moment for anyone who experienced its chaotic, unforgettable launch weeks back in early 2022. Gliding off a cliffside alongside dozens of other VR players and cooking meals together in a virtual tavern captured that elusive Sword Art Online dream better than almost anything else on the market. To Ramen VR's credit, keeping the servers running out of pocket for more than two full years after halting active development in 2024 is an admirable gesture from a small independent team. Still, the absence of peer-to-peer hosting or an offline preservation build stings: come December 18, everyone who bought The Last City on PS VR2 or PC will be left with nothing more than a dead tile in their library.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
