Place 2 – Warhammer Online
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Mythic Entertainment | Release Date: September 18, 2008 | Discontinued: December 18, 2013 | Payment Model: Pay2Play | Voting Result: 29.67% (429 votes)
What kind of MMORPG was it? Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was labeled a major WoW killer before its release. It featured classic PvE content like crafting and quests, while the game’s focus lay on PvP.
Upon release, Warhammer Online received very positive feedback. Over 1.2 million copies were sold, and at its peak, it had more than 800,000 subscribers.
It was among the 3 important MMORPGs that were released in 2008 and aimed to breathe new life into the genre.
What made it special? The MMORPG utilized the “Realm vs Realm” mechanics from Dark Age of Camelot and pitted 3 races against each other. This led to exciting sieges and large-scale battles.
A small revolution was the shared loot and quest mobs that could be defeated together, even if one was not in a group. This made the MMORPG appealing even to PvE players.
Moreover, the game used the Warhammer license, associating it with a major name.
What did it fail to achieve? Just a few months after its release, player numbers plummeted rapidly. This was because Warhammer Online felt unfinished. It was simply released too early and lacked substantial endgame content at launch. Additionally, there were several “game-breaking bugs” that were slow to be fixed.
While there was consideration to convert Warhammer Online into a free-to-play MMORPG, the decision was made against it, as the license for the game was set to expire in 2013.
However, anyone wishing to relive Warhammer Online can still have a lot of fun on the private server Return of Reckoning today.
