Another One Bites The Dust: Warhammer Online Servers Closing in December

It’s unfortunate that Another One Bites The Dust exists, but necessary. This column chronicles the fateful announcements ahead of an MMOGs’ downfall, a company closure or, in some truly sad cases, both. Grab your Big Gulp and let some hit the floor for the fallen.

Breaking the five year anniversary before its closure (today), Mythic Entertainment Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will cease to exist on December 18, 2013. The title started off with a bang, breaching 750,000 users in a scant few weeks before collapsing to 300,000 less than six months later in February 2009. Server merges followed the next month to deal with ghost-town servers.

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We were lucky enough to play in their universe for nearly a decade, with five great long years live. However, like all things – our contract has come to an end. Both Games Workshop and Mythic agreed to part ways, despite how hard it is emotionally on us to let the game go.

Mythic’s goodbye post blames the closure on a termination of the licensing contract with Games Workshop, but who does the company think it’s kidding? A radical drop in subscribers, a loss of development talent, including senior designer Josh Drescher, and no second chance from a free-to-play conversion (Mythic spent a year on an Asian F2P version), WAR, as well reviewed as it was, was doomed by the end of 2009.

What was your favorite memory from WAR? What feature(s) would you want to see in your current or future title? For me, WAR was the closest to MMOG PvP enjoyment I’ve experience. But man, that Tome of Knowledge is unforgettable.