It has been over a year and a half since Horizons: Empires of Istaria was released. In that time, Artifact Entertainment had to let go of a large portion of their developers, as well as file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Eventually, they were bought out by Tulga Games and since have been able to hire on a couple more developers. Throughout all this, as well as a significant bottoming out of subscriptions, Horizons has continued to evolve into what many feel is a completely new game.