Codemasters cancels Dragon Empires
So, Dragon Empires joins Mythica, True Fantasy Live Online, Ultima X Odyssey and Warhammer Online on the list of MMORPGs that never made it.
Another sad day for virtual worlds, definitely, but also a very sad day for me personally as both MMORPGs I've worked on have now been cancelled.
Dragon Empires cancellation comes as less of a shock than Warhammer's as it took far more risks. Focusing on a PvP game and trying to develop a new fantasy IP in a crowded market was always going to be hard, whereas bringing Games Workshop's much loved Warhammer world to life looked like a safe bet.
In both cases I can take solace in the knowledge that I held my end up. Neither Warhammer's server tech nor Dragon Empires design were cited as reasons for the cancellations, but I don't think the reasons given for project cancellations ever tell the full story or hint at the plethora of difficulties that must be overcome to launch an MMO.
It's going to take a while for this to sink in and I'm sure I'll have a roller coaster of emotions over the next few days, just as I did after Warhammer Online's cancellation. I'll comment in more depth in the days to come. In the mean time I'd just like to say thanks to all the people who made working on the 2 projects a huge amount of fun even when it was really tough.
I hope all of you won't lose heart and will join me in using the lessons we've learned from WHO and DE to make better virtual worlds in the future.
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