Warhammer 40k: Dark Millennium Offline

[Ritterin Sophia]

The fate of the Warhammer 40,000 MMO has been revealed: It's no longer a Warhammer 40,000 MMO. THQ has announced Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium has been "refocused" as a single-player action game with multiplayer elements, a change that brings with it substantial layoffs at developers Vigil Games and Relic Entertainment.

Originally thought canceled due to financial troubles at THQ, the publisher assured fans that the massively multiplayer game was still in development, though the exact nature of that development was left up in the air. In any case, it didn't seem like the company was in any shape to maintain a big budget MMO game.

And they weren't. In a press release issued today Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ, revealed game-changing plans for the project.

"As previously announced, we have been actively looking for a business partner for the game as an MMO. However, based on changing market dynamics and the additional investment required to complete the game as an MMO, we believe the right direction for us is to shift the title from an MMO to a premium experience with single and multiplayer gameplay, robust digital content and community features."

Disappointing, to say the least.

Even more disappointing is the downsizing at Vigil Games and Relic Entertainment that comes as a result of this decision, the two internal THQ studios losing 79 and 39 full-time employees respectively.

While countless MMO fans just lost faith in THQ, THQ still believes in Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium.

"Because we believe strongly in the high-quality and vast creative work that is in production, this is the right decision for both our portfolio and for gamers devoted to this powerful property."

Well, there goes the only RPG I was looking forward to.

[DPDarkPrimus]

I just feel bad for Relic, who could have made a fine 40k adventure-RPG and had it out already if THQ hadn't tried to play the mugs game of making an MMO.

[White Haven]

I'd feel more sad for Relic if they'd stop fucking about and deliver unto me Homeworld 3. As much as Dawn of War can be a fun romp, ROOTS, people, ROOTS.

I admit I'm surprised to see DMO dropped all the way down to single or mostly-singleplayer from an MMO. You'd think they would have had a significant amount of the work for a multi title done already.

[Aaron MkII]

*shrug* I'll give it a go if it's on 360.

[Serafina]

Guess i won't have to choose between SWTOR and Dark Millenium then.

Still disappointing, especially since it'll turn into an action game with, presumably, few to no RPG-elements.

[Coaan]

I'm actually glad to see it relegated to single/multi game status.

Maybe this way they'll actually develop/provide resources to the multiplayer side this time instead of giving us another piss-poor experience like Space Marine.

[Alkaloid]

I'm sort of two minds about this. On the one hand, I don't play MMORPGs, so I might actually play this now. On the other, this is the one setting where the 'standard' MMORPG build, small groups of absurdly overpowered and over equipped people running around completing a series of vaguely related missions before moving on to a new area, all while at war with pretty much everyone else, works not only as a game but actually fits into the pre established universe like a glove.

[Cykeisme]

Well, it makes excellent sense if the players were acolytes in an Inquisitor's cell.. but the problem is that everyone in an MMORPG would want to play the rare and ridiculously highly powered individuals that exist in 40k, like Inquisitors, Astartes and the like.

Nevertheless, the developers'/publishers' financial considerations aside, I think it's generally a good idea to have a non-massive RPG to iron out gameplay mechanics, atmosphere, art direction etc, lessons that can be applied to a future MMORPG endeavor.

[Zac Naloen]

So, are they turning it into Space Marine 2?

because I'd actually prefer that...

[Alkaloid]

Well, it makes excellent sense if the players were acolytes in an Inquisitor's cell.. but the problem is that everyone in an MMORPG would want to play the rare and ridiculously highly powered individuals that exist in 40k, like Inquisitors, Astartes and the like.

Nah, Inquisitors, Astartes and Rogue Traders have to be right out, but there are still heaps of options. An Inquisitors Acolyte sent to investigate, an junior Techpriest looking for ancient tech getting caught up in someones mess, a chaos cultist fomenting rebellion, an Aribites investigator tracking down something, and genestealer hybrid expanding the broods influence, an eldar ranger looking up something mysterious. The only races that wouldn't fit are Orks, Necrons and Dark Eldar, you can do a good, low key, not all out war deathmatch story for pretty much every faction in the game without breaking the universes already established rules.

[Cykeisme]

Well, that's sort of my point. Having the sort of characters like the ones available as PCs in Dark Heresy would appeal to us awesome, intelligent and handsome WH40k fans, but regular 40k fans and the general public would whine about how they can't play an Ork, or a Necron, or a Tau dude, etc.

Thus at first glance 40k is perfect for an MMO.. but on second thought, you'd either have to take a lot of creative liberties with the story and background to allow play options suitable for mass consumption, or end up making a game that only appeals to the cool and attractive minority like us.

[White Haven]

My thinking for a 40k MMO would be to base individual power level around the serious heavy-hitters (Astartes, Exarchs, Inquisitors, etcetera), and then make Imperial Guard (and other weaker, more well-organized whatsits) as a multi-pet class like a CoX Mastermind. So whereas an Astartes player is one dude, well, that Guard player might just have custom-built his squad as a heavy-weapons unit with a couple of stormtroopers to round it out.

[CaptHawkeye]

Someone call me when and if they ever decide to get around to Company of Heroes 2.

[Wing Commander MAD]

Someone call me when and if they ever decide to get around to Company of Heroes 2.

I wouldn't hold my breath on it, remeber Relic is a subsidiary of THQ now. THQ isn't looking too great right now, and from what I've heard Darksiders 2 will probably make or break the company.* The entire Dawn of War 2 design team has been axed as of now, so I'd say a DoW 3 is unlikely. I'd be surprised if any of the CoH team are left, so if it did somehow manage to get made I imagine it will be a totally different game.

Note*: Apparently it's the only big title they have due out anytime soon, and they are actually facing the possibility of being delisted by NASDAQ with share price currently at $0.53 per share. Basically, the only hope is the game doing well and attracting enough investors, though even that may not be enough to save the company. The uDraw fiasco may well have been a deathblow.

[CaptHawkeye]

Darksiders 2 doesn't strike me as the kind of game to hinge a company's future on. So I guess THQ better start digging that grave. It sounds like they've totally gutted Relic by this point. They even tried to ditch GSC somewhere back a few months ago for reasons I totally agree with. (IE: GSC's tendency to waste tons of money on vaporware.)

I read somewhere else that even SEGA has begun to consolidate a lot of its development around a few signature IPs because the market is getting tight for them too. I guess there's no room for second rate publishers anymore. Either you're with the big boys, Activision, Ubisoft and EA, or you're out.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Frankly I expect within the next five or so years for EA to have bought THQ out to acquire the rights to the Warhammer franchises.

[Covenant]

I wouldn't say you're either in the top dogs or you're dead, there's a lot of air out there for indies and middle-weight developers. The problem is advertising and marketing in general can be tricky, and that there's a lot competition in the game market for the big budget blockbuster titles--which has the problem of making those blockbusters less busty and a lot less interesting. Standards go up! Costs go up! Competition goes up!

The financial problems these companies face are entirely due to the massive budgets they blow producing what are, quite honestly, really boring games. They rush them out, they waste tons of money getting them made, and they're essentially soulless and drab. This isn't rocket science, so really the developers are at fault as much as the publishers, but for different reasons.

If they focused on doing good games that don't throw billions of dollars into development costs they'd be able to make their bottom lines. Look at the two huge Kickstarter explosions for Wasteland 2 and a point-and-click adventure. Both of those are made by industry vets, not upstarts, and they're based on old ideas, not new ones. There's public support for a lot different things out there and it doesn't need to be stupid expensive to produce.

If you look at THQ's past lineups, they've got maybe a tiny amount of original IPs, and tons and tons and tons of licensed crap, crap that was poorly made, and crap that nobody really wanted. Maybe they're entirely creatively bankrupt and can't come up with a good idea on their own, but I doubt that--someone just needed to gamble a bit before they reached the shambling undead phase they're in now. They're working on too many big dumb projects, including ANOTHER shooter game. We don't need another goddamned first person shooter--at least it's not a Military shooter--but unless it's amazingly good it'll get forgotten amidst the avalanche of similar titles.

It's their own damn fault.

[Wing Commander MAD]

Frankly I expect within the next five or so years for EA to have bought THQ out to acquire the rights to the Warhammer franchises.

I don't think the license is transferable, and I believe EA already holds the Warhammer Fantasy license. It is questionable if EA would get the Warhammer 40K one given the relative lack of success they've had with the Fantasy license compared to THQ's relative success with the 40K license. Ubisoft is probably most likely. I just don't see Activision getting either license ever, for obvious reasons.

From what I've read the uDraw and a decision to pretty much kill off the kiddie games division, which were apparently quite profitable and cheap to make, were THQ's biggest mistakes. Wasn't there a letter from a supposed ex-THQ employee ciculating a month or two ago predicting doom for the company due to incompetant management?

[Gunhead]

First time I even heard there was a 40K MMORPG in the making. Personally I think it's a good move they scrapped it. 40K + RPG sounds good on paper, but most of the material for it is 1 dimensional at best, -5 dimensional at worst. Call me cynical, but I doubt gaming industry has the required amounts of Fe + C in their balls to raise 40K out of the swamp of mediocrity and neither it has the writing pecs to do it. Slap on top the fattynerds screeching about "canon" etc. You have a game that has to try real hard to not suck and most likely will gravitate towards the shitty end of that scale.

-Gunhead