Mythic Entertainment is dead

[Infinitron]

raw SuicideBunny Time to celebrate.

EA Shuts Down Longtime Game Studio Mythic Entertainment

EA has shut down Mythic Entertainment, the longtime video game studio most recently responsible for Warhammer Online and the Dungeon Keeper reboot for mobile platforms.

When reached by Kotaku, EA sent over the following statement:

We are closing the EA Mythic location in Fairfax, Virginia, as we concentrate mobile development in our other studio locations. We are working with all impacted employees to provide assistance in finding new opportunities, either within EA or with other companies via an upcoming job fair.

Founded in 1995, Mythic also developed Dark Age of Camelot and a number of other online games including the popular MUD Dragon's Gate. Their most recent release, a microtransaction-heavy remake of the classic strategy game Dungeon Keeper, was received poorly by many gamers.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Another one bits the dust.

 

[Zed]

their games suck big dong.

I hope they get reemployment at better studios.

 

[taxalot]

They'll have plenty of time to watch their imps dig at gems now. It's free.

 

[Xenich]

...microtransaction-heavy remake of the classic strategy game Dungeon Keeper, was received poorly by many gamers.

No... really? How is that possible? /sarc

 

[Night Goat]

The only surprise is that it took this long.

EA esse delendam.

 

[J1M]

Is this more or less embarrassing for them than when they were renamed Bioware Mythic?

 

[Kane]

EA kills off developer #28474793, after it bled all its talent and values. Ceterum censeo EAinem esse delendam.

 

[SuicideBunny]

surprised it took ea this long...

 

[Great Deceiver]

It always sucks to hear about people losing their jobs, but it's really very difficult to fathom that it was the same company that developed Dark Age of Camelot and that godfuckingawful wait2play Dungeon Keeper travesty.

 

[Metro]

EA kills off developer #28474793, after it bled all its talent and values. Ceterum censeo EAinem esse delendam.

That's the great irony of EA: Once upon a time they were one of the first publishers that promoted their developers and treated them like 'rock stars' (hence the album shaped packages their games used to come in). Now they haul them in and grind them to dust. Trip Hawkins created a monster.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I actually remember a time when EA publishing was pretty synonymous with quality; the first EA game I played on PC was probably Starflight (I was a little too young to really understand the game, I might have been around 8 or so), but my early-mid 90's computer life was completely dominated by Origin games and so on.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ic-boss-eulogises-the-fallen-warhammer-studio

Former Mythic boss eulogises the fallen Warhammer studio
"I will always remain incredibly proud of them all."

Upon yesterday's news of Mythic shutting down, former studio boss Mark Jacobs offered Eurogamer the following parting words detailing the company's rise and fall.

For the last 24 hours, I've been pretty consumed with the news: the studio I co-founded is being shut down by EA. What I hope people remember, and what I've been focusing on since yesterday, are not the games of Mythic, but rather the teams that made them.

There was the first team, or "old" Mythic. About a dozen folks made online games from 1995 to 1999, when online games had gone from an afterthought in the games industry (MUD? What's a MUD?), to the "next big thing," and then back again to a niche market. These guys and gals - including the studio's co-founders - accepted pay cuts, "turtle mode" (literally counting paperclips), and incredibly low budgets (the one exception being Aliens Online, for which we were paid $450K) to create more than a dozen online games, including games based on major Hollywood licenses. We all worked long hours and weekends because we believed that online games still had a big future, despite a dire forecast when our primary sources of revenue - Engage Games Online, Kesmai, and the AOL Games Channel - were shut down, merged, or otherwise became non-viable options.

Dark Age of Camelot, arguably the best realm vs. realm MMORPG ever.

Then there was the second team, about two dozen folks who, in 18 months and on time and on budget, created what I and many people consider the best RvR-centric MMORPG to date: Dark Age of Camelot. This team poured everything they had into making this game, and even though we were rejected by every publisher we approached save one, Vivendi Universal Games (thank you, as always), they never lost faith. It was truly a team effort. Nobody, not even me, can or should claim all the credit for creating that landmark game. They did everything that was asked of them, and while I generally eschew clichés, they gave 110 per cent to make that game happen. When it succeeded, they shared in its success and bounty.

Then there was the third team, the team that created Warhammer. Many of them came from the team that was making Imperator and were moved to WAR. In only three years, and with crunches that were even worse than during the Dark Age of Camelot development cycle, they created a terrific, albeit flawed, MMORPG. Through their efforts, new words and phrases such as "Public Quests" entered the MMORPG lexicon, and I hope that WAR will be remembered not just for its flaws but for its glory as well. The flaws were not of their making. As I've said before, the flaws and premature release rested with senior management (including myself) at both Mythic and EA but ultimately, members of that team paid the price. It was for those reasons, among others, that I insisted that Mythic co-founder Robert Denton and I tried to speak to every member of the team that was laid off one-on-one or in small groups to thank them for their efforts and to apologise for the layoffs.

That's what I have been focusing on for the last 24 hours. Mythic Entertainment was more than any individual or game. It was made up of incredibly hard-working men and women who always did what they were asked. As a team, they never wavered in their commitment to making great games. I hope that if this is indeed the end of Mythic Entertainment, people don't forget the teams that worked so hard and treated their jobs as seriously and professionally as anybody could have wished. I will always remain incredibly proud of them all.

 

[Kane]

In only three years, and with crunches that were even worse than during the Dark Age of Camelot development cycle, they created a terrific, albeit flawed, MMORPG.

I want to use this opportunity to make clear what kind of bussiness model these people are targeting. Lets look at this graph:

At release in 2009, WAR had 800.000 subscribers. Assuming a box price of $45, that means 36 million dollars from the box sales alone. For an average developer 800k box sales is an incredibly good result. Obviously, due to the games terrible quality the numbers dropped off hilariously fast.

WAR was designed and executed as a shell game to maximize profits on day one and then reap a steady benefit from subscription fees from the people dumb enough or too invested into the IP to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For the people with the money, WAR was an extremely successful venture. So successful infact, that they continue to do it to this day. Because 'gamers' are literally dumb enough to buy the same shit over and over again.

These people do not want to make games, they want to make a profit. And they have absolutely no problem to step over corpses to get there.

It's laughable that Jacobs now admits that WAR is 'flawed', when that is systemic, i.e. desired. WAR wasn't flawed. It worked exactly as intended.

 

[Shannow]

In only three years, and with crunches that were even worse than during the Dark Age of Camelot development cycle, they created a terrific, albeit flawed, MMORPG.

It's laughable that Jacobs now admits that WAR is 'flawed', when that is systemic, i.e. desired. WAR wasn't flawed. It worked exactly as intended.

Nah. Apart from Uwe Boll nobody "intends" to make a shitty product. A good product will usually sell better (not taking into account marketing, availability, price, etc.). But a good game requires more effort and money.
Not giving a fuck about releasing shit, if you think you can get away with it (still make lots of money), is not the same as making something shit on purpose (not taking into account that "good features" for devs/publisher these days often means "shit" for anybody with taste or a brain).

 

[Kane]

In only three years, and with crunches that were even worse than during the Dark Age of Camelot development cycle, they created a terrific, albeit flawed, MMORPG.

It's laughable that Jacobs now admits that WAR is 'flawed', when that is systemic, i.e. desired. WAR wasn't flawed. It worked exactly as intended.

Nah. Apart from Uwe Boll nobody "intends" to make a shitty product. A good product will usually sell better (not taking into account marketing, availability, price, etc.). But a good game requires more effort and money.
Not giving a fuck about releasing shit, if you think you can get away with it (still make lots of money), is not the same as making something shit on purpose (not taking into account that "good features" for devs/publisher these days often means "shit" for anybody with taste or a brain).

See, that was exactly my train of thought all these years. Yeah, tight deadlines, money hungry managers all putting a boot into the neck of the poor developer. Nobody would do this kind of stuff on purpose, these are all sane and mentally stable individuals after all.

Then I discovered the contrary.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Doesn't really matter as long as manboons act as they always acted and keep the routine; ESO will be next WHO.

 

[abija]

Nah. Apart from Uwe Boll nobody "intends" to make a shitty product. A good product will usually sell better (not taking into account marketing, availability, price, etc.). But a good game requires more effort and money.
Not giving a fuck about releasing shit, if you think you can get away with it (still make lots of money), is not the same as making something shit on purpose (not taking into account that "good features" for devs/publisher these days often means "shit" for anybody with taste or a brain).

When you schedule 1/3rd of the required time and 1/10th of the budget you are deliberately producing shit. It's EXACTLY the same thing Uwe Boll does.

 

[commie]

Stop ragging on Boll, I actually thought there were some seeds of potential quality in Postal and Iron Sky...problems stem from lack of ability and too much crass undergrad 'humour' to make the good outweigh the bad.

 

[Kane]

Stop ragging on Boll, I actually thought there were some seeds of potential quality in Postal and Iron Sky...problems stem from lack of ability and too much crass undergrad 'humour' to make the good outweigh the bad.

Iron Sky has nothing to do with Boll...

 

[commie]

Stop ragging on Boll, I actually thought there were some seeds of potential quality in Postal and Iron Sky...problems stem from lack of ability and too much crass undergrad 'humour' to make the good outweigh the bad.

Iron Sky has nothing to do with Boll...

Err yeah...had the impression that he directed it as it had that trademark 'could be funny, but too much exaggerated groan inducing stuff' thing of his.

Just checked that it was by some kid director...yeah well that explains the undergraduate 'humour'.

 

[Hobo Elf]

"B-but it will be different this time!! EA has learned from its past mistakes!!!"
These are the exact words Mark Jacobs told me on a certain Warhammer Online fan forum when I called Mythic out for selling out to EA. Developers are not learning animals.

 

[Drakron]

At release in 2009, WAR had 800.000 subscribers. Assuming a box price of $45, that means 36 million dollars from the box sales alone. For an average developer 800k box sales is an incredibly good result. Obviously, due to the games terrible quality the numbers dropped off hilariously fast.

Dont assume that, it means subcriptions and even those are very much deduced from press releases and server data.

Its not bad sure but its still not viable since it was P2P were the point is maintaining subscribers, sure Age of Conan have similar peak followed by a drop and its still around, what killed WAR was EA since you didnt check the year Mythic was brought by EA (2006) and the game was only shutdown in 2013, what wasnt told was what happened after BioWare was brought by EA and "BioWare Mythic" was the result of the re-organization, if I recall even SWTOR was affected by EA moving Mythic staff to work on it and that was after BioWare open the studio in Austin.

I am not really blaming EA for Mythic shutting down as much as Mythic own screw ups, granted BioWare and SWTOR didnt help but there is still they arent telling us.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

In only three years, and with crunches that were even worse than during the Dark Age of Camelot development cycle, they created a terrific, albeit flawed, MMORPG.

I want to use this opportunity to make clear what kind of bussiness model these people are targeting. Lets look at this graph:

At release in 2009, WAR had 800.000 subscribers. Assuming a box price of $45, that means 36 million dollars from the box sales alone. For an average developer 800k box sales is an incredibly good result. Obviously, due to the games terrible quality the numbers dropped off hilariously fast.

WAR was designed and executed as a shell game to maximize profits on day one and then reap a steady benefit from subscription fees from the people dumb enough or too invested into the IP to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For the people with the money, WAR was an extremely successful venture. So successful infact, that they continue to do it to this day. Because 'gamers' are literally dumb enough to buy the same shit over and over again.

These people do not want to make games, they want to make a profit. And they have absolutely no problem to step over corpses to get there.

It's laughable that Jacobs now admits that WAR is 'flawed', when that is systemic, i.e. desired. WAR wasn't flawed. It worked exactly as intended.

WAR changed design mid development, it went from a pvp focused design to quest grind focused game when EA stepped in with cash. You could see this by playing the greenskin/dwarf zones and comparing them to everyone elses. They were the first zones completed and marketed, and Greenskin PQ's were pvp focused and had you fighting the other faction whilst both races tackled the PVE objective. chaos/empire/elves/dark elves were entirely PVE based and separated from the races they were supposedly at war with.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Lolololol.
How many more shitbombs does Biowhore have to make before their corpse is stuffed and mounted?

 

[Norfleet]

Stop ragging on Boll, I actually thought there were some seeds of potential quality in Postal and Iron Sky...problems stem from lack of ability and too much crass undergrad 'humour' to make the good outweigh the bad.

An acknowledgement that Boll produces dreck isn't even ragging on him. The man intends to produce dreck. He does it on purpose for a tax loophole. It's not even known if he CAN produce a good movie, because this is not even his goal.