Warhammer Online
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Mythic Entertainment | Release Date: September 18, 2008 | Shut Down: December 18, 2013 | Payment Model: Pay2Play
What was this MMORPG like? Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was an MMORPG focused on PvP. It pitted 2 factions with 3 races each against one another, resulting in exciting sieges and large-scale battles.
A small revolution was the shared loot and quest mobs that could be defeated together, even if players were not in a group. This made the MMORPG interesting even for PvE players who otherwise could only rely on quests and crafting.
Why was it considered a WoW-killer? Long before Warhammer Online, there was a “small war” between fans of the universes. In 1994, when Warcraft was released, there were complaints that Blizzard had modeled their game after the well-known franchise or even stolen from it.
As reported by the website Kotaku, this is not entirely incorrect. Warcraft was originally supposed to be a Warhammer game, but the collaboration fell through and a unique world emerged.
With the strong license behind it, many fans hoped for an MMORPG that could stand up to World of Warcraft and especially attract PvP fans.
Another advantage was that it was released 2 months before Wrath of the Lich King and thus could actually convince players who were bored with WoW. At launch, over 1.2 million copies were sold, and at its peak, it had over 800,000 subscribers.
What “killed” the MMORPG? ? Just a few months after release, player numbers plummeted. This was because Warhammer Online felt unfinished. It was particularly lacking in endgame content. Additionally, there were several “game-breaking bugs” that took too long to fix.
The release of WOTLK, which initially seemed like an advantage on paper, ended up pulling many players back from Warhammer to WoW.
However, anyone who wants to experience Warhammer Online today can have a lot of fun on the private server Return of Reckoning, which has been running successfully for several years.
