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Imperator: Game Postponed

DanaDana Member Posts: 2,415
in News & Features Discussion

Although the press release does not say cancelation, it sure sounded like it. Today Mythic Entertainment announced that Imperator has been postponed so that they team may focus on Warhammer Online and the next expansion to Dark Age of Camelot: "Darkness Rising".

The move will mean no personnel layoffs at the Fairfax based developer.


MYTHIC ENTERTAINMENT TO POSTPONE PRODUCTION OF "IMPERATOR" MMORPG
Company to focus development on "Warhammer" MMORPG and "Dark Age of Camelot"

FAIRFAX, VA – July 13, 2005 – Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of massively-multiplayer online role-playing games, today announced the production postponement of "Imperator," the sci-fi MMORPG previously scheduled for a June 2006 release. The decision was made after a complete internal review of the project status.

“This was the most difficult decision that we have ever had to make,” said Mark Jacobs, CEO and president of Mythic Entertainment. “However, our tremendous success with 'Dark Age of Camelot' set the standard for Mythic of releasing nothing less than triple-A games, and 'Imperator' was simply not meeting that standard.”

There are no personnel layoffs planned as a result of this decision. Staff will be reassigned to the ongoing development of "Dark Age of Camelot" including the next expansion, "Darkness Rising," scheduled for Q4 ’05. In addition some personnel have already been assigned to the new "Warhammer" MMORPG which Mythic announced at E3 in May 2005.

“Our team made a tremendous effort with the game and the praise it drew at E3 and in previews reflected their skill and dedication,” Jacobs continued. “But in the final analysis it just wasn't great enough to be a Mythic game at this time.”

Mythic will perform an internal reassessment of the game’s features and make a decision on how to proceed with its development in the future.

The decision to postpone "Imperator" also means that the company’s plans to establish a European publishing office have been postponed. It is expected that those plans will resume as the company prepares for its 2007 worldwide publication of the "Warhammer" MMORPG.

About Mythic Entertainment

Mythic Entertainment is one of the most successful developers and publishers of massively multiplayer online role-playing games in the world. Credited with 15 online games, including the award winning “Dark Age of Camelot(R),” Mythic’s success is based in proprietary technology, superior game design and exemplary customer service delivered by a talented staff of more than 160 people. “Dark Age of Camelot(R)” has been played in almost every country in the world, and has been translated into seven languages including recently Spanish and Japanese.

In March 2003, TA Associates completed a $32 million investment in Mythic, the largest ever granted to any independent game developer. Mythic has been recognized for their business achievements by the Inc. 500, Deloitte Fast 500, and as a 2004 finalist in the Dell Small Business Awards. In addition to the next “Dark Age of Camelot(R)” expansion "Darkness Rising," Mythic is currently developing the new fantasy MMORPG based on the popular Games Workshop property, Warhammer. More information about Mythic Entertainment is available at www.mythicentertainment.com .



[ expand press release ]

Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios

Comments

  • Lunchbox76Lunchbox76 Member Posts: 294

    OH that totally sucks. I know hate Mythic ::::27::.

    Playing Fallen Earth.

  • KaneKane Member Posts: 780

    Makes me happy cause that just means Warhammer will come out that much sooner! Hate to see a game so many were looking forward put on hiatus, but...good for Warhammer.

  • SilkGoDSilkGoD Member Posts: 7

    Sounds like the game is cancelled..not postponed at all :(

  • PraxusPraxus Member Posts: 266

    Not surprised as the game didn't seem that interesting...kind of like another Planetside.

  • darquenbladedarquenblade Member Posts: 1,015


    Originally posted by SilkGoD

    Sounds like the game is cancelled..not postponed at all :(

    Pretty much. Which is unfortunate, because the game sounded interesting. Don't get me wrong--I think Warhammer will be good, but I think the only reason they did this was not because Imperator was 'not up to triple A standards' as they put it, but simply because they can get more money out of the Warhammer license.

    And the list of sci-fi MMOs gets smaller...

  • RazorbackRazorback Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 5,253


    Originally posted by Praxus

    Not surprised as the game didn't seem that interesting...kind of like another Planetside.


    /nod

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  • RemyVorenderRemyVorender Member RarePosts: 4,006

    i honestly didn't see this one coming.image wow....and damnit! image

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  • noobletnooblet Member Posts: 2,274

    Damn that sucks::::21:: The game looked really promising. Now its either being totally remade and coming out in late 07/08 or its getting canned...most likely the latter.

  • BayonetReconBayonetRecon Member UncommonPosts: 128

    That is surprising. It seemed like they were really behind Imperator. Once a game like this gets postponed, how likely is it that it will get picked back up. Probably not likely, huh?

    Hopefully they can pull off Warhammer. It's a big title and an ambitious project, no matter who's behind it.

  • ThinmanThinman Member Posts: 461

    As someone who has loved DAOC most of all out of all of the MMOGs that I've played, this is quite good news. It means that Mythic realizes how much potential they have in the new servers (classic servers), and that they're going to put more of their resources back into DAOC.

    Mythic is definitely a company that isn't afraid to admit the mistakes that they've made, and correct them. A lot more than can be said for many other companies.

    _______________________________________________________________________

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  • BlurrBlurr Member UncommonPosts: 2,155

    It's a shame because this game actually looked pretty interesting. The idea of the Roman state extending across the entire globe and surviving into the future sounds like quite an interesting world to play in, not to mention the Aztecs who flew away and were coming back or whatever. It's a darn shame, I was looking forward to trying that game out.

    Anywhoo, I can understand why they did it, and I'm glad that they had the balls to go through it. The Warhammer is a big license and I'm glad it will see the light of day. Hopefully they can do it well.

    I also hope that maybe instead of just tossing imperator into the refuse bin, they're gonna archive it all and look at it again later.

    "Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000

  • HarafnirHarafnir Member UncommonPosts: 1,350

    So once again the original has to stand back for yet another copy of the same old that everyone else does...

    Its like bad movie producers has taken over the computer game market, instead of the freethinkers that once made this industry succesful.

    "This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
    It should be thrown with great force"

  • frankyz669frankyz669 Member Posts: 50

    i am actually rather disappointed myself.  being in business myself, generally a postponement means that it is the first step towards cancelling.

    perhaps they will use some of the features that they were developing with imperator with warhammer.  i really liked the concept of state based combat.

    anyways, the game sounded totally cool, but i'm sure we can write it off.

    "I have live my life by these nine simple words: It sounded like a good idea at the time."
    --Livingston Taylor

  • kpartonkparton Member Posts: 104

    OMG!

    Worst nightmare come true now :(  Been following this since its inception, so sad now.

  • BhazirBhazir Member Posts: 321

    Hmm as another poster said there is good and bad news in that release. I looked out to Warhammer Online from the beginning, then they stopped the developement now it is back up and running. I only wonder how much of the original design will be left in.

    But it is indeed a pitty that an other game as to suffer under this. I know how I feeled when I first saw that Warhammer was cancelled (and yep there they used the cancel word)

    "If all magic fails, rely on three feet of steel and a strong arm"

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  • stav1stav1 Member Posts: 282

    Tragic that an original sci-fi idea is cancelled for more of the same fantasy (licensed of course in this day and age).

    How was imperator like planetside btw? Was it fps based combat?

     

  • iinfideliinfidel Member Posts: 34


    Originally posted by darquenblade

    And the list of sci-fi MMOs gets smaller...

    /weep

    I really hoped that Mythic going sci-fi would encourage other developers to do the same.

    image

  • ScarisScaris Member UncommonPosts: 5,332

    Any chance you will be getting some form of inverview or QA with them Lepidus?

    - Scaris

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  • RJCoxRJCox Member Posts: 2,686

    Originally posted by Bhazir
    Hmm as another poster said there is good and bad news in that release. I looked out to Warhammer Online from the beginning, then they stopped the developement now it is back up and running. I only wonder how much of the original design will be left in.But it is indeed a pitty that an other game as to suffer under this. I know how I feeled when I first saw that Warhammer was cancelled (and yep there they used the cancel word)

    Just to clear up a bit of apparent confusion here, (forgive me if I'm wrong in my reading of your post) but Mythic never cancelled Warhammer. A completely seperate company originally had the Warhammer Fantasy license and was developing Warhammer Online. Their project was cancelled, then at some point after their cancellation Mythic and Games Workshop came to an agreement and Mythic picked up the Warhammer Fantasy license (some other company holds the 40k license). Mythic's Warhammer project is not the same as was in production previously, completely different team, everything.

    Richard J. Cox
    "There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."

  • BillTannerBillTanner Member UncommonPosts: 37

    Bah, that sucks. The whole reason I came to this site to begin with was a link to a story about Imperator. I was really, really looking forward to an original sci-fi idea, and the graphics looked awesome. I'm bummed. Not to slight anyone else's interest, but Warhammer has never done it for me, so I don't get any good news out of this. Bah. ::::26::

  • MonthigosMonthigos Staff WriterMember Posts: 61

    I'll admit that I'm disappointed by this announcement. It does seem as if its being cancelled. I've always enjoyed the Roman Empire, and the concept of it extending far into the future seemed intriguing. With the amount of Fantasy saturation there is in the MMORPG industry, you would think that there would be a greater reception for new Sci-Fi titles.

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  • TwaddleTwaddle Member Posts: 1
    Since I read quite early on that Imperator was going to be PvE based I never really followed its development. The setting is something that's kept it in the back of my mind though, so here's hoping that when they decide it's time for a new PvP based game this one gets pulled off the back burner.
  • DirtySteveDirtySteve Member Posts: 88

    Romans in Space?

    First I heard of this game even bit i'll admit the idea doesnt appeal to me at all..


    Bye bye Imperator

  • AegikanAegikan Member Posts: 12

    Warhammer online nice too image interesting also

    pity for imperator. imageimage it had an original style of gameplay it was getting great from reviews etc...

    good job anyway image image

    The Apocalpse.....Words maybe taunting and annoying, thus a blade in one's heart is more painful.

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