World of Darkness
Setting: Horror | Developer: CCP Games | Announcement: 2006 | Cancellation: 2014 | Planned Platforms: PC
What kind of game was it? World of Darkness is a popular pen-and-paper role-playing game that was supposed to get a corresponding MMORPG in 2006. In the world, vampires, werewolves, mages, and ghosts were to exist. Players were to start as humans and later become a vampire, with whom they could join one of the various clans.
These clans were supposed to be in constant war with each other, leading to PvP battles. PvP was also meant to be a significant aspect of the endgame of the game.
The MMORPG was developed by CCP, the studio behind EVE Online. The entire MMORPG was intended to take place on a large server.
Despite the long development time, there were few exact details available. There was talk of special vampire mechanics and long-term work was done on them. Overall, the game was to focus heavily on player interaction and political scheming.
For a short time, there was also talk of a perma-death feature, where the character could not be used again after death.
What did it fail at? In 2010, it was said that World of Darkness Online was already being tested internally. However, little gameplay information leaked out. In the following years, there were several layoffs at CCP.
In 2012, it was said that the focus was being shifted to EVE Online, but that work on the new MMORPG continued, albeit with a smaller team.
In 2014, it was stated that World of Darkness would take years to be released. The project was officially canceled that same year. The development was reportedly plagued by problems, resulting in the absence of a good game.
