The game was prematurely ended on the 75th Floor, instead of the intended 100th Floor, when the final boss, Heathcliff, revealed to be Kayaba Akihiko himself, was defeated in a duel against Kirito. Combined with lethal dungeon traps and bosses, Player Killing (PKing), crime, suicides, a slowly dwindling population, and increasing difficulty on the higher floors, the prospects generally looked very bleak. Of the total 3,853 deaths, over half occurred in the first month of SAO. Psychologically, many players experienced extreme despair, grief, insanity and sadness during the course of the death game. During the two-year period the game remained active, «Sword Art Online» evolved into an innovative yet complex society of individuals with mixed feelings about the possibility of clearing the game. «Sword Art Online» officially started server service at 13:00 on Novemand obtained infamy when the creator succeeded in trapping 10,000 people in the game, and making it so that death in-game would mean actual death for the player. Hard-core gamers waited in line for days to purchase the first few hard copies from many stores.

Only 10,000 copies were printed in the first batch of the game, and online sales sold out within seconds. Hardcore gamers, having waited three days in line to receive the much-anticipated first issue of Sword Art Online After the Closed Beta Testing ended, the Beta Testers were given the opportunity to pre-order the game.

During that period, «Sword Art Online» was lauded as an incredible experience, and it received extremely positive reviews despite the actual difficulty of the game. Prior to official launch, «Sword Art Online» Closed Beta was available to 1,000 beta testers for a one month period from August to September 2022.

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