Update:

In a comment issued to Game Informer , Microsoft has confirmed that Ascend: Hand of Kul on Xbox 360 will continue to be playable until November 18, 2014, at which time the servers will close.

“We can confirm that effective November 18, 2014, ‘Ascend’ on Xbox 360 will close. Players will still be able to play ‘Ascend’ on Xbox 360 and use any content they have already acquired until the game closure date. This only applies to ‘Ascend’ on Xbox 360 - ‘Ascend’ will continue to be available on the Steam gaming platform. We thank Signal Studios and its community of gamers for their support and look forward to welcoming them into our other gaming communities.”There's no word from Microsoft on what spurred the upcoming closure, while Signal Studios declined to provide additional comment.

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Free-to-play action RPG Ascend: Hand of Kul has been deliberately removed from the Xbox Live Marketplace, with support for the game apparently canceled on Xbox 360 less than a year after release.In a bulletin addressed to the community on the developer's site , Signal Studios revealed the decision was made by its publisher, Microsoft. The move was seemingly made without prior notification, as Signal began to receive player complaints that tipped it off something was amiss."Signal Studios must regretfully announce that despite our best efforts and the games success, Microsoft has discontinued support for Ascend: Hand of Kul on the Xbox 360 and removed the game from the Xbox Live Marketplace. This surfaced to us while investigating various issues players have been experiencing over the weekend."Ascend: Hand of Kul was an atmospheric ARPG, one of the first free-to-play games on Xbox 360, and featured a unique multiplayer system that allowed players to invade one another's worlds in a constant war for land control.Signal Studios has made a free beta for the PC version of Ascend available on Steam , which features "a wealth of gameplay improvements where the community can still enjoy slaying trolls and converting altars." In addition, Signal is providing a gift of in-game currency to new and existing players of the PC version."In appreciation of our fans, Signal Studios will grant all new Ascend PC players a starting bonus of souls totaling 25K which can be used to purchase gear, spells and buffs. All existing Ascend PC players will receive a 10K soul bonus just for playing."We've reached out for comment and will update this story as needed.

Brandin Tyrrel is a freelance writer covering games and tech. There's absolutely no reason to follow him on Twitter