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NOOOO! Warhammer Online Delayed Till Mid 08!!!

Dam you EA! Dam You Mythic! What is a ex-World of Warcraft player looking for a crack fix going to do? During EA’s financial conference call today they revealed yet another delay for Mythic’s long-awaited MMORPG, Warhammer: Online, pushing back its release from Q1 of 2008 to quarter two (at best). PLEASE! I do not want to play WoW anymore I need a new Fix!

During their financial conference call today with investors, Electronic Arts execs announced yet another delay for Warhammer Online, the long awaited fantasy MMO title from their EA Mythic studio. The game, originally set for release this fall and then delayed to the first quarter of 2008, has now been pushed back to sometime in EA’s fiscal 2009 year (which begins on April 1 2008). During the conference call, EA execs said that they now expect the game to ship sometime in the first half of 2008, explaining that Mythic’s head Mark Jacobs asked for an extension beyond March 2008 due to the team missing part of a milestone in the game’s development.

Here is what the VP and General Manager, EA Mythic, Mark Jacobsa had to say in the Warhammer online newsletter.

In 2005, when Mythic signed the licensing agreement for Warhammer, I promised Games Workshop that we would create a great and glorious game. When Electronic Arts acquired us a year later, I told them the same thing. Now, a year after that acquisition, nothing has changed: we still intend to deliver the next great MMORPG. As many of you may have heard, we have extended WAR’s development cycle until the 2nd quarter of 2008. The reason is simple; we will not release Warhammer Online until it is the game we set out to create two years ago.

Our goals for Warhammer Online are not easily met. The game includes many new and innovative ideas, a feature set that is going to blow players away, and, most importantly, the best RvR system in MMORPG gaming. These things take time to implement and test properly. During the last phase of beta testing, we received valuable feedback from our testers that will help make these features even better. When we looked at our options, two paths lay before us: 1) Ship the game on time with fewer features and less polish, or 2) Extend the development cycle and spend the needed time and money to make WAR great. We chose the latter path - to invest additional time and effort in implementation and polish to make WAR great. Fortunately, we have the resources and support of EA behind us to extend our development cycle; time that will be used to make sure the game is everything we want it to be. WAR is coming, and it will be glorious.

One of the “popular” topics of discussion regarding EA Mythic this past week has been the subject of layoffs within the studio. While we did let several people go from the Warhammer Online team, the number was *quite* small and their loss had no impact on our development schedule. These layoffs were part of our normal studio operations and a necessary step for EA Mythic to ensure that we have a focused and committed team working on WAR going forward.

On the Beta front, we will begin a new phase of testing in December, and we look forward to getting even more people involved in WAR by the end of the year. We are approaching a half a million registrants, and, to my knowledge, this could be the most signups ever for a Western MMORPG beta. I am very proud of this as it is a testament to the strength of the community, the popularity of the Warhammer license, and the outstanding work the team at EA Mythic is doing on the game. When we open the beta in Asia, we expect the numbers to continue to climb as we’d like to see one million players signed up to test the game. At that point, we will be well on our way to bringing about the second part of the double entendre of our motto as WAR really will be everywhere.

Over the next few months in Beta, our players will find all-new content to experience, careers to play and cities to siege. Our Capital City team continues to push the envelope by creating the next generation of living cities in MMORPGs and Altdorf is simply breathtaking. New Community systems will be in place and we look forward to getting many existing guilds into the beta to try them out.

In addition, we’ll be making changes to the RvR (open field RvR FTW!) and Server Rule Set Systems. These changes bring WAR a step closer to fulfilling the promise that “War is Everywhere” while ensuring a great play experience for those that do not choose to engage in RvR 24×7. This is another example of how EA Mythic talks to the community, listens to what they have to say, and takes action. We will continue this process over the next three quarters as we continue to develop, expand and improve WAR.

As I often quote from movies, one line particularly leaps to mind right now: “Creation is an act of sheer will,” said John Hammond in Jurassic Park. Unlike his creation in that film, however, what EA Mythic creates will be great and glorious, and nobody will get eaten by giant reptiles. That is, until we bring Lustria to life and then all bets are off.

As always, we thank you for your patronage, support and interest.

Mark Jacobs
VP and General Manager, EA Mythic

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Join Our Forums And Tells Us About Yourself and what new games your looking forward to getting this year. I can’t wait for WarHammer Online my self. I got a chance to play it this year at Gen Con and it looks and feels like a refreshing change from the MMO’s on the market today. Eye of Judgment is also on my list I simply had best time playing this TCG / Video game I have played in a long time.