<s>
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
:	I-Application
Factions	I-Application
is	O
a	O
free-to-play	O
multiplayer	O
fantasy	O
tactical	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Stoic	O
Studio	O
as	O
a	O
spinoff	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
and	O
published	O
by	O
Versus	O
Evil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
conceived	O
when	O
they	O
were	O
designing	O
the	O
combat	O
for	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
,	O
and	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
release	O
it	O
for	O
free	O
as	O
a	O
standalone	O
multiplayer	O
game	O
so	O
players	O
could	O
get	O
familiar	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
:	I-Application
Factions	I-Application
allows	O
players	O
to	O
pit	O
teams	O
of	O
six	O
combatants	O
,	O
chosen	O
from	O
16	O
classes	O
,	O
against	O
each	O
other	O
on	O
a	O
grid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
uses	O
the	O
city	O
of	O
Strand	O
as	O
its	O
main	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
with	O
players	O
selecting	O
different	O
buildings	O
where	O
they	O
can	O
upgrade	O
their	O
characters	O
,	O
see	O
their	O
achievements	O
,	O
buy	O
new	O
characters	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
functionalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
developers	O
,	O
Alex	O
Thomas	O
and	O
John	O
Watson	O
,	O
left	O
BioWare	O
Austin	O
after	O
working	O
on	O
Star	B-Protocol
Wars	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
The	I-Protocol
Old	I-Protocol
Republic	I-Protocol
,	O
wanting	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
game	O
for	O
their	O
own	O
enjoyment	O
and	O
something	O
other	O
players	O
would	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
became	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
combat	O
system	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
designed	O
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
chess	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
influenced	O
by	O
games	O
like	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Tactics	I-Application
and	O
Shining	B-Architecture
Force	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
initially	O
nearly	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
that	O
of	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Tactics	I-Application
,	O
Stoic	O
decided	O
to	O
create	O
their	O
own	O
unique	O
system	O
after	O
players	O
who	O
tested	O
the	O
game	O
at	O
Fantastic	O
Arcade	O
2012	O
found	O
it	O
unwieldy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
additional	O
funding	O
from	O
Kickstarter	O
for	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
allowed	O
the	O
developers	O
to	O
add	O
city	O
building	O
as	O
a	O
feature	O
into	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
name	O
was	O
publicly	O
revealed	O
on	O
September	O
15	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
:	I-Application
Factions	I-Application
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
to	O
be	O
releasing	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
in	O
early	O
November	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
for	O
iPad	B-Device
and	O
Ouya	B-Application
were	O
also	O
announced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stoic	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
launch	O
with	O
12-16	O
character	O
classes	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
would	O
support	O
the	O
game	O
even	O
after	O
the	O
third	O
chapter	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
was	O
launched	O
,	O
while	O
adding	O
in	O
new	O
content	O
from	O
the	O
single-player	O
to	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
like	O
character	O
classes	O
and	O
gameplay	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
story	O
campaign	O
of	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
was	O
also	O
supposed	O
to	O
progress	O
as	O
new	O
chapters	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
were	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	O
director	O
Alex	O
Thomas	O
later	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
or	O
consoles	O
as	O
they	O
wanted	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
single-player	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
publicly	O
for	O
Windows	O
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
through	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
9	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
servers	O
were	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Banner	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
:	I-Application
Factions	I-Application
holds	O
a	O
weighted	O
average	O
score	O
of	O
67	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
based	O
on	O
5	O
critical	O
reviews	O
,	O
signifying	O
"	O
mixed	O
or	O
average	O
reviews	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
