Tag: Mythic

Warhammer Online: Costs Haven't Synced For Free To Play


Warhammer Online’s fourth birthday has come and gone, and Massively.com has quite an interesting interview with Producer James Casey about the life of Warhammer, past, present, and future. Casey also talks about Warhammer’s MOBA brother, Wrath of Heroes, and how the development teams for both games have been kept complimentary, but separate. Finally, Casey answers the question many of us have been asking for a good while: Why hasn’t Warhammer Online gone free? My guess has always come down to cost, and from Casey’s reply, I wasn’t wrong:

We’ve investigated this option in the past, but the costs and changes needed to make it happen in a satisfactorily way haven’t synced up yet.

Transitioning a game to free to play is incredibly expensive and, in the case of games like Earthrise and Gods & Heroes (and now Warhammer), is simply out of the question.

(Source: Massively.com)

Warhammer Online: Costs Haven’t Synced For Free To Play


Warhammer Online’s fourth birthday has come and gone, and Massively.com has quite an interesting interview with Producer James Casey about the life of Warhammer, past, present, and future. Casey also talks about Warhammer’s MOBA brother, Wrath of Heroes, and how the development teams for both games have been kept complimentary, but separate. Finally, Casey answers the question many of us have been asking for a good while: Why hasn’t Warhammer Online gone free? My guess has always come down to cost, and from Casey’s reply, I wasn’t wrong:

We’ve investigated this option in the past, but the costs and changes needed to make it happen in a satisfactorily way haven’t synced up yet.

Transitioning a game to free to play is incredibly expensive and, in the case of games like Earthrise and Gods & Heroes (and now Warhammer), is simply out of the question.

(Source: Massively.com)

The Old Republic Free To Play, Subscriptions Plummeted


Normally when I open an article with “to the surprise of absolutely no one,” I am exaggerating slightly. However, the announcement today that The Old Republic is heading to a free to play model should come as a surprise to absolutely no one with an internet connection and a finger on the pulse of Electronic Arts. Later this fall, The Old Republic will make its transition, allowing players to experience everything* that a galaxy far, far away has to offer. Players will have access to all eight classes, the complete story content, but will be limited in warzone and flashpoints, as well as space missions, travel functionality, and extremely limited access to the galactic trade network.

So why is Bioware suddenly choosing free to play? Well as the announcement puts it:

We feel that flexibility and choice in playing our game is important for all current and future players. For that reason, we began the exploration of expanding the game to include a Free-to-Play option.

Also, at the investor call today, Electronic Arts announced that subscription numbers dropped below one million (from the last reported figure of 1.3 million in May) but “well above” half a million. More specific subscription figures were not made available. Bioware heralded The Old Republic back in December as “one of the greatest and most ambitious achievements in video game history.”

(Source: The Old Republic)

Warhammer Online/Wrath of Heroes Cross-Promotion


Warhammer Online, despite server closure upon server closure, is still running and allegedly there are still players subscribed and playing. If you are a current or former subscriber to Warhammer Online, odds are you’ve tried Mythic’s MOBA styled around the MMO’s scenarios, Wrath of Heroes. Regardless, Mythic has implemented a cross-promotion system offering benefits in Wrath of Heroes for subscribers to Warhammer Online.

Starting today, Warhammer Online subscribers will receive a 50% increase in gold and experience in Wrath of Heroes. In order to receive the bonus, you will need to have both games on the same EA account. It may take up to 24 hours for the bonus to come into effect.

(Source: Warhammer Online)

Warhammer Online: Too Far Gone For Free To Play?


Back in October, VP of Bioware Mythic Eugene Evans told us that Warhammer Online is alive and kicking and, much like the Christmas cookies in the closet in July, remains an undiscovered treat. In fact, Evans was confident enough in Warhammer’s future to announce that subscription numbers had risen since the announcement of WAR’s free to play half-brother Wrath of Heroes, and that Mythic has absolutely no plans to take the game free.

In a move to increase server population, Mythic announced that players on the Gorfang and Karak Azgal servers will need to transfer to Badlands and Karak Norn respectively. Starting December 14th, the transition will be optional for three weeks before the aforementioned servers (Gorfant/Azgal) are marked as legacy servers and shut down.

The game play experience of our customers is something we highly value.  We don’t make changes like this lightly.  A lot of metrics and analysis accompanies this type of decision. We feel that these changes will help to ensure that server options continue to facilitate that best RvR experience out there.  Thanks for playing and see you on the battlefield!

This move leaves North America and UK players with one server to choose from each, and at least this writer wondering: Is Warhammer too far gone to go free to play? Playing devil’s advocate, an easy comparison can be made to Lineage II, of which I personally anticipated the game to shut down around the time NCWest had shuttered all but a single remaining server in North America.

We know from past interviews with Derek Smart and Stephen Calender that the process of moving an MMO to a free to play model is immensely time consuming and expensive for the developer, and occasionally a better business option to just shut down rather than invest the money without a clear indication of what revenue can be brought in.

One thing I can say for certain is that Electronic Arts is going to drag Warhammer Online until the product is no longer financially viable, and then probably continue running the game after that. The early bankruptcy of Realtime Worlds and the performance of Warhammer Online has dealt a great deal of damage to Electronic Arts’ relations with their investors, so much so that Gamasutra ran an article that investors were turning down The Old Republic out of fears of similar performance and support.

As for shutting down, Warhammer Online will not be shut down until The Old Republic is in the clear and bringing in so much money that the investors don’t even notice WAR die in the corner as its once loving parents now spend their time fawning over their new baby that looks a bit like the old one, but with cuter dimples.

Warhammer Online Isn’t Going Free To Play


I’m sure a lot of people expect me to do the usual poking of fun at Mythic over Warhammer Online, and truth be told I have enough content to fill more than just an introductory and self-parodying paragraph. So for the sake of getting to the point, I will not be referring to Warhammer as “boring crap,” nor will I make a joke about Mythic apparently not seeing the worth in players investing in the MMO, apparently even if that investment is absolutely nothing. And for once, I will stop inciting Mark Jacobs.

VP Eugene Evans over at Bioware Mythic wants the world to know that Warhammer Online is alive and still fighting for survival, and much like the steak supply in a house full of vegetarians, isn’t going anywhere. Evans stated that subscriptions on Warhammer Online have actually risen since the announcement of the free to play MOBA. That being said, if players want Warhammer for free, they’re going to have to turn to Wrath of Heroes. Warhammer, according to Mythic, has no intention on shutting down, nor does it have any intention on going free.

“We also think this is a better approach. You know, how do you make it more accessible? How do you make it a fun experience out of the door? So we’re really starting almost from the ground-up but having the benefit of being able to draw on everything we’ve learned from producing Warhammer Online.”

Since today has seen some conspiracy theories, let’s take a guess on the intention behind Warhammer never going free to play. It’s a successful business move, and if WAR needs anything it’s a bigger community, so who is behind it? Does the team really think that keeping the subscription is best, or does this have to do with EA’s refusal to move their other MMOs into the free to play realm?

Warhammer Online Isn't Going Free To Play


I’m sure a lot of people expect me to do the usual poking of fun at Mythic over Warhammer Online, and truth be told I have enough content to fill more than just an introductory and self-parodying paragraph. So for the sake of getting to the point, I will not be referring to Warhammer as “boring crap,” nor will I make a joke about Mythic apparently not seeing the worth in players investing in the MMO, apparently even if that investment is absolutely nothing. And for once, I will stop inciting Mark Jacobs.

VP Eugene Evans over at Bioware Mythic wants the world to know that Warhammer Online is alive and still fighting for survival, and much like the steak supply in a house full of vegetarians, isn’t going anywhere. Evans stated that subscriptions on Warhammer Online have actually risen since the announcement of the free to play MOBA. That being said, if players want Warhammer for free, they’re going to have to turn to Wrath of Heroes. Warhammer, according to Mythic, has no intention on shutting down, nor does it have any intention on going free.

“We also think this is a better approach. You know, how do you make it more accessible? How do you make it a fun experience out of the door? So we’re really starting almost from the ground-up but having the benefit of being able to draw on everything we’ve learned from producing Warhammer Online.”

Since today has seen some conspiracy theories, let’s take a guess on the intention behind Warhammer never going free to play. It’s a successful business move, and if WAR needs anything it’s a bigger community, so who is behind it? Does the team really think that keeping the subscription is best, or does this have to do with EA’s refusal to move their other MMOs into the free to play realm?

Mark Jacobs Back From The Dead


Mark Jacobs made a name for himself here at MMO Fallout, particularly his quote regarding the launch of an MMO and its success being determined by whether or not the developer could be seen adding servers post-launch. Jacobs famously departed from Mythic Entertainment, and much like Richard Garriot following his departure from NCSoft, fell off the face of the earth in terms of future projects or developments.

Well Jacobs is back and, like countless before him, has formed his own company to divert from the standard corporate environment. Jacobs has formed City State Entertainment, with the goal of creating games for tablets, social media, and mobile demographics. Or as hardcore gamers will call it, Jacobs recognized the market potential in churning out FarmVille clones, games that require little effort to churn out a large profit via microtransactions. Or as a business major would call it, Jacobs will roll in cash for a fraction of the effort put into his previous projects. Jacobs says not to worry, however, as the company has no plans on becoming the next Zynga, and instead will form their own IP that they hope to translate to other medium.

City State Entertainment’s first title is set to release in Q4 2011. The company formed back in March and constitutes a number of ex-Mythic employees. MMO Fallout will be continuing coverage as more information on the first title is revealed.

Warhammer Online Is Boring Crap, At Least Mythic Thinks So…


Mythic Entertainment is taking a unique approach to advertising Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes, their upcoming MOBA game, and I’m not just referring to presenting the title with all the apathy of a high school student’s PowerPoint presentation on the agricultural impact of Wyoming on its neighboring states pre-dating the 1900’s. Back when Wrath of Heroes was announced, a good number of people noticed that the game is essentially Warhammer Online’s scenarios, minus the grinding and leveling, with the original three faction battles that die-hard Dark Age of Camelot fans have been begging for since the game’s unveiling.

Turns out they were right. At the PAX panel, the WoH development team directly stated that Wrath of Heroes is for people who liked Warhammer Online’s scenarios, but did not want to invest the time or money into the MMO. Or as the panel put it, they cut out all the “boring crap” so that players wouldn’t have to grind for “748,000 hours” to gain small incremental advancements in skills and power. If your average WAR fanboy isn’t steaming at the ears from this news, the team goes on to explain that much of the armor in Wrath of Heroes was either used or scrapped in Warhammer Online.

Mythic is going to need to clean the tire treads off of Warhammer Online, because Paul Barnett and the rest of the panel did their best to trash the MMO and throw it under the bus, a sentiment that the WAR community is not at all happy about.

Warhammer MOBA Announced, WAR Going Nowhere


Mythic Entertainment today announced Warhammer: Wrath of Heroes, a lobby-based arena PvP game. As part of the Electronic Arts Play4Free program (you may recognize this from Battlefield Play4Free), Wrath of Heroes will be free to play with a notable cash shop. Judging by the trailer, the game appears to control similar to Warhammer Online, with the exception of trading in a persistent character for an array of heroes. The game will run on 6v6v6 (that’s right, three faction matches) battles centered around destruction and territory control.

Warhammer Online fans may be a little miffed at this announcement, and Mythic rather quickly dropped a new Herald letter on the main website today to calm fears. Kai Schober wants you to know that this is not a death strike for Warhammer, but rather a positive notch. In addition to new armors, Schober also talks the return of fortresses and perks for Warhammer Online subscribers that will cross over to Wrath of Heroes.

We brought in people to develop the new title and actually increased our pool of resources. This means that we can leverage things done for one game into the other. A small example is that the new Mourkain Temple layout was a result of some work done for Wrath of Heroes. There are others and a few we want to share with you as soon as possible. New looks perchance?

It will be interesting to see if these two brothers can coexist, or if Wrath of Heroes being free to play will have any detriment on Warhammer Online’s population.