Mythic shut down
EA shutters Warhammer Online and Dungeon Keeper remake developer to focus on mobile efforts at other studios
Mythic is now the stuff of legend, as Electronic Arts today confirmed to Kotaku that it has shut down the developer behind such titles as the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning MMO and the controversial Dungeon Keeper remake for mobile platforms.
"We are closing the EA Mythic location in Fairfax, Virginia, as we concentrate mobile development in our other studio locations. We are working with all impacted employees to provide assistance in finding new opportunities, either within EA or with other companies via an upcoming job fair," an EA representative said in a statement.
Mythic had been in business for more than 15 years, specializing in online games like Darkness Falls: The Crusade and Aliens Online. It would breakthrough in 2001 with the release of its flagship MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. The studio followed that up in 2006 by securing the rights to create a Warhammer MMORPG, and being acquired by Electronic Arts later that same year. That began a series of name changes, as the studio became EA Mythic, then Mythic Entertainment again, then BioWare Mythic, and finally in 2012, just Mythic.
That last name change also marked a change in focus for the developer, which went from the massively multiplayer realm into the world of tablet and smartphone titles. In that final phase of its existence, the company produced Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, and a microtransaction-driven remake of the EA-Bullfrog classic Dungeon Keeper, which drew the ire of original designer Peter Molyneux, among others.
While Warhammer Online was shut down late last year, Mythic is survived by its other big-name MMO, Dark Age of Camelot. Electronic Arts had already offloaded the ongoing operations of that title to Broadsword Online Games, which is headed up by Mythic Entertainment co-founder Rob Denton. An EA representative confirmed that Broadsword will continue to operate Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online (another MMO for which Mythic was a one-time steward). As for Dungeon Keeper Online, EA is already transitioning operations for that title to a different team.