News – Page 464 – MMO Fallout

Mark Kern Removed From Red 5 Studios

Hello, timing. Earlier today, Gamefront.com broke the news that CEO Mark Kern has been voted out by board members at Red 5 Studios. An internal email leaked detailing that Kern no longer had any authority within the company, and that further information would be given at a subsequent company meeting. Red 5 reached out to Gamefront, confirming that Kern was indeed no longer with the company.

As of Thursday, December 19th, Mark Kern is no longer the Chief Executive Officer of Red 5 Studios. Mark founded Red 5 Studios in 2006 to provide exceptional game entertainment along with a world-class team of developers working on the MMO Shooter, Firefall. Red 5 Vice President of Development, James Macauley, will be moving into the role of acting CEO. The team at Red 5 continues work on Firefall and looks forward to all that we have to offer in 2014.

The Escapist has reported contact from Red 5 employees detailing Kern as absent, visiting only to make arbitrary decisions, and disruptive to the company.

(Source: Gamefront)
(Source: Escapist)

Defiance Reveals Endless Free Trial

Trion Worlds has announced that Defiance will be moving over to an endless free trial, allowing players to get in on the action for as long as they like without buying the full game. Instead of the previous 72 hour time limit, players will now be capped at 500 EGO points until they upgrade to the full version. With Defiance going for cheaper than a meal at Burger King most days, upgrading to the full version won’t set players back that much. To the best of my knowledge, this beta extends only to PC players.

(Source: Trion Press Release)

TERA On Its Way To China

It’s hard to believe that TERA launched nearly two years ago in Korea, and even harder to believe that the game didn’t come to China before it came west. That hasn’t stopped publisher Kunlun Games from continuing with its efforts to bring the MMO to the northwest. According to a news article on MMO Culture, TERA is set to begin its first testing phase in China on January 9th, 2014. Players will be able to access content up to level 38, similar to the low content cap used in other regional betas, as well as an exclusive level 34 dungeon only available on the Chinese client.

(Source: TERA)

Perfect World Opens Console Division

Those of you who own a Playstation 4 or follow MMOs are likely already aware of the free to play MMOs that are either already available or are coming soon on the system. Perfect World Entertainment currently offers Blacklight Retribution on the console, and recently announced that it is opening a division of the company solely for the development of console titles. In a press release put out today by Perfect World Entertainment, the company did not detail which titles would be brought to current and next-gen systems, but described “current and future games.” Could we see Neverwinter on consoles? Perhaps.

Perfect World’s CEO Alan Chen had the following to say:

“Perfect World Entertainment has long been the leader in free-to-play PC titles. Bringing our titles to consoles is a natural progression for us, and we can’t wait to set a new standard for console MMORPGs and other genres.”

More information is set to come in 2014.

(Source: Perfect World Press Release)

Marvel Heroes Adding More Villains

Marvel Heroes continues expanding its roster of heroes, and now even villains. In a post on the official website, Gazillion announced that players can get their hands on an advance pack, including Dr Strange, Juggernaut, Magneto, Moon Knight, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Silver Surfer, Sue Storm, Star-lord, and Venom. The advance pack also offers two additional characters who have yet to be named, as well as other bonuses including fortune cards and alternate costumes. The pack will set you back, however, by a good hundred dollars.

Players will receive the heroes as they are released, which Gazillion expects to occur throughout 2014 and into 2015. If you aren’t so excited to throw down $120, you can always wait until the heroes are released and buy/acquire them individually.

(Source: Marvel Heroes)

MMOrning Shots: To Waaagh! And Back

Warhammer Online comes to a close today, after five years of operation. As much as we joke here at MMO Fallout about the MMO and just about everything else surrounding the game and its developer, we’re always sad to see a game shut down. There might not have been a lot of people playing Warhammer, but you can’t deny that they were a dedicated bunch. Warhammer Online still sits in quite a few eyes as having the best player vs player combat on the market, and the only true successor to Dark Age of Camelot.

While we are on the subject, has anyone seen Mark Jacobs’ upcoming MMO, Camelot Unchained?

Warhammer Online Details Refunds

In case you’ve forgotten, Warhammer Online shuts down tomorrow. In a post on the Warhammer website, Mythic has detailed exactly how players will be compensated for their purchases. If you have made a purchase after November 1st, or had any game time remaining on your account on the same day, you will be refunded in full. If you purchased with a credit card, you’re all set as it will be refunded automatically. Anyone who paid with a game card will have to contact Mythic’s billing support. The same goes for unused game time codes.

According to the news post, refunds will start going out December 18th with the entire process possibly taking up to 90 days to complete due to the amount of work required. Check out the entire notice at the link below.

(Source: Warhammer Online)

Mythos Global Shutting Down

Mythos is the second game from ex-developer Flagship Studios, the one that they weren’t able to release before the company went bankrupt. Korean publisher Hanbitsoft took on the development of both of Flagship’s games, eventually releasing Mythos in Europe in mid 2011 through publisher Frogster. The servers didn’t last long, launching in April with Frogster announcing that the game would shut down in October. Refusing to give up, Hanbitsoft announced that Mythos would return as a global service, aptly titled Mythos Global, which went into open beta in early 2012.

Sadly, Mythos Global will be shutting down on January 22nd. The news isn’t all that surprising, considering the games with the rockiest development tend not to last long after launch. A compensation pack will be detailed soon for current players.

(Source: Mythos)

Mechwarrior Online's $500 Gold Mechs

I feel like every time that I see Mechwarrior Online in the news, it’s over some expensive new toy available in the cash shop. Today is no different, as Pihrana Games have begun selling gold plated mechs for $500 USD. The mechs were released alongside the clan collection, which itself offers bundles of mechs in packs ranging from $30 to $240. The mechs themselves aren’t actually being released until June 2014, and they come with a unique module that hasn’t been detailed yet.

Once again, if you’re looking for $500 to blow on something that might not be here a decade from now, MMO Fallout is always looking for sponsors.

(Source: PCGamesN)

Elder Scrolls Online Hits PC/Mac 4.4.14

In an announcement on the official website, Zenimax Studios has confirmed that Elder Scrolls Online will launch April 4th, 2014 on the PC and Mac platforms. Console gamers will have to wait an additional couple of months, however, as the PS4 and Xbox One releases are not scheduled until June of the same year. The announcement was accompanied by a letter to the community by Game Director Matt Firor.

Worldwide demand for The Elder Scrolls Online is extraordinarily high. This means we need to do a staggered rollout of the different versions of the game to spread out the initial service load and ensure an enjoyable, smooth gameplay experience.

Check out the link below for the full announcement and a brand new trailer.

(Source: Elder Scrolls Online)

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It:

Spread It: