After reports of widespread layoffs at Unchained Entertainment, there has been no update on the status quo of Camelot Unchained for months. Studio head and industry veteran Mark Jacobs has finally spoken out and discussed the MMORPG.
What does Mark Jacobs say? The MMORPG veteran, who has worked as a lead designer on classics like Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online, addressed the widespread layoffs at the beginning of 2025 and the current development status of the crowdfunding game in an approximately 20-minute stream. The main insights (via Twitch):
- After the long development time, the team took a moment to reassess the entire project. They were uncertain whether they could create a finished game from this foundation and engine in a reasonable timeframe.
- The result of this evaluation: Yes, it is possible to complete and publish Camelot Unchained in a reasonable form, but many things need to change – and that is what they set out to do.
- The layoffs that had to take place at the beginning of the year are not included, according to Mark Jacobs. These were “terrible” and they lost many talented developers who contributed to what the studio head can now show to the community.
- Specifically, Mark Jacobs introduces the new zone Camelot Hills in the stream. While other regions of the MMORPG have always been around 4 square kilometers, the hilly landscape reportedly covers more than 70 square kilometers.
- According to Jacobs, the new zone is supposed to represent the future of the game and optimally support the strengths of the engine as well as features like mass battles.
- In Camelot Hills, a new lighting technology is also being used, which is supposed to deliver what one would expect from a “modern AAA game” regarding lighting.
- The lead developer promises: “We finally have a real game, folks. Certainly not with all the classes and zones we want to bring. But it is a game with a gigantic foundation.” The improvements they have been able to achieve since the last gameplay presentations have been great, the “look-and-feel” has made a huge leap.
A new “State of the Game” video shows a large mass battle in Camelot Hills:
“This must be a troll attempt”
How does the community react to the video and stream? Although the comments under the video are (probably temporarily) disabled (via Reddit), the gameplay scenes and the statement from Mark Jacobs are, of course, being discussed on Reddit.
- HungryHousecat1645 expresses little impression on Reddit: “Frame rate and performance issues in their own marketing material for a game that looks 20 years old. Ugh. What’s going on here?”
- Flaky_Purpose_6440 cannot believe it on Reddit: “This is a joke, an absolute joke, 12 years [of development] has given us this crap in this video?”
- Kope feels trolled by Mark Jacobs (via Reddit): “No way, this must be a troll attempt. This is definitely not what they are showing, lmao.”
- MeatballZeitgeist sees it positively on Reddit: “I mean, it looks like a game. That’s more than I realistically expect from this project at this point.”
This is what Camelot Unchained looked like nearly 9 years ago:
What do I need to know about Camelot Unchained? The MMORPG,which had a Kickstarter campaign in 2013, was supposed to be released long ago. However, the team led by industry veteran Mark Jacobs kept getting sidetracked, struggled with financial problems, or was distracted by other projects like the PvE MMO Final Stand: Ragnarök.
After a long development period and many delays, an unexpected status update came from the lead developer in March 2024: Camelot Unchained is set to be released in late 2025. Early in the year, the news of the layoffs followed.
When it became known that 24 out of 55 employees had to leave, some supporters of the project even thought out loud about taking legal action against the developer if there was no detailed schedule for Camelot Unchained in the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, Mark Jacobs took another three months to discuss the current status of the MMORPG. A detailed summary of the tumultuous development can be found here: What is actually happening with Camelot Unchained, the great hope for true MMORPG veterans?
