Whenever the term "transition" is mentioned it generally only means one thing, times of hardship. Manchester United used the phrase consistently during the last two years as it struggled to match Chelsea's dominance, and now it seems the beleaguered French developer/publisher, Nevrax, is making heavy use in a recent statement about its future and that of Ryzom.

In the statement, Nevrax confirms that as a corporate entity it will be entering into receivership next month, though it insists that this does not mean the end of support to its MMO - using an overly clichéd and somewhat hopeful proclamation, "...this is not the beginning of the end - just the end of the beginning."

With the earlier release of The Ryzom Ring expansion pack, Nevrax put creative powers in the hands of the players, presumably in an attempt to keep the game going when troubles first appeared on the horizon. Essentially an SDK kit, The Ryzom Ring allows players to create their own environments, missions and scenarios for others to access.

With the suggestion that a company emerging from the shadows could take on Ryzom and ensure its future, Nevrax remain understandably cautious about revealing too many details on this possibility at present.

As a goodwill gesture, Nevrax have confirmed that it will cease to take payments from subscribers, turning existing accounts into free accounts with one month of free access. Newcomers will also be able to download and create a Free Trial account, but because it is impossible to upgrade this, Nevrax have removed the level cap on free accounts.