Place 10: Warhammer Online
Developer: Mythic Entertainment | Platform: PC | Release Date: September 18, 2008 | Shutdown: December 18, 2013
MeinMMO editorial manager Gerd recalls the failed MMORPG: Warhammer Online is one of the major “what ifs” in video game history. And that’s a question of “what if EA hadn’t interfered and Mythic Entertainment had been given free rein?”
The makers of Dark Age of Camelot secured the great Warhammer license on May 18, 2005, for a sort of spiritual successor to Dark Age of Camelot. But a year after the development of Warhammer Online began, EA took over the gaming studio on June 20, 2006.
The new owners seemed to push for a rapid release and already in September 2008, Warhammer Online was released. The MMORPG, like DAoC, initially offered relatively little, yet a lot of potential, with the great franchise and a strong team behind it.
Warhammer Online also emphasized the battle between the Order (Dwarves, Empire, High Elves) and Destruction (Greenskins, Chaos, Dark Elves) factions. However, despite a decent start and good reviews, the MMORPG could never really establish itself in the market. By March 2009, Warhammer Online was considered a flop and servers were merged.
Apparently at that time, a large part of the MMORPG fans simply played the more PvE-heavy WoW, which was approaching its zenith in 2009. While there were still great plans to expand the MMORPG Warhammer Online, and as a final step, to convert the MMORPG to a free2play model.
However, in December 2013, the license deal with Games Workshop expired and the MMORPG shut down without ever reaching its potential. Developer veteran Mark Jacobs, bitterly disappointed by EA, is now working with his own indie studio on Camelot Unchained. Warhammer Online lives on as a private server.
