Marvel MMO
Setting: Superheroes | Developer / Publisher: Daybreak Game Company | Platform: PC | Cancelled: 2022
As early as 2020, the birds were chirping that a new MMO project was to be created by Daybreak Games (which oversees DC Universe Online, EverQuest, and Dungeons & Dragons Online). In November 2021, a financial report from Enad Global 7 (the group behind Daybreak) revealed that it was supposed to be an AAA MMO with the Marvel IP.
In the cinema, there’s still no escaping Marvel:
The project leader is already familiar to you from page 2 of this article. Jack Emmert was previously responsible for DC Universe Online and had made a name for himself with other MMORPGs like City of Heroes and Star Trek Online. Most recently, he sought to develop an MMORPG based on Warhammer with his own studio. But let’s go back to the early 2020s.
Just six months later, the project was off the table again. After a reassessment, the responsible parties concluded that the project was too risky, the effort too high, and the genre too expensive.
The developers wanted to reallocate the team to other long-term projects. Meanwhile, DC Universe Online continues to hold up very well and is even trying to imitate the genre king: The 14-year-old MMORPG is doing it like WoW, breaking down faction barriers, and now also offers cross-faction groups
The driving force behind these closures is said to have been Don Mattrick, who took over the management of Microsoft Game Studios in 2007. His mandate was apparently to make the gaming division profitable within three years. However, the Halo MMORPG would not have been finished until after that period.
What are long-term successes when short-term bonuses are waiting? At least that’s the accusation from affected developers. You can read more about it here: Former developer talks about the Halo MMORPG, revealing why Microsoft backed out
