Warhammer Online Enters Guild Beta Stage

It's full speed ahead for EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning as the game enters the final phase of closed beta testing, the Guild Beta. This is the stage where guilds from other games who signed up for beta as a whole will gain access to the game en masse in order to test out the newly implemented guild and heraldry features, as well as the individual servers' capacity for drama.

“WAR’s Guild Beta is here and some of the world’s most experienced MMO players will now get a chance to play one of the most anticipated MMOs of all time,” said Mark Jacobs, vice president and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “We look forward to seeing them beat, bash and burn their way through the world that we have created for their enjoyment. It’s going to be a lot of fun and it’s going to be glorious!”

The WoW guild I was in when we signed up for the Warhammer beta has long since dissolved, reformed, dissolved again, and split up into a series of tiny, ineffectual guilds with no hope of ever accomplishing anything. Such is the way of all things.

EA Mythic's Barnett on Why He Doesn't Hit GDC

Russians, listen up! Warhammer Online is coming. That's right, a fully localized version of EA Mythic's MMORPGH Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will be released in Russia for PCs early next year. Whew! Make it through the post without a "Because in Soviet Russia, Warhammer Online plays you" joke. Oh. Wait.

Hit the jump for the short press release, which is thankfully free of such tired humor.

The worldwide launch for EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning just got a bit more worldwide. Recognizing the legion of Warhammer fans in Australia and New Zealand, the two countries along with Southeast Asia will bet getting the game the same time those of us in Europe and North America do, complete with their own servers so they don't have to mingle with dirty Americans. EA Mythic VP Mark Jacobs breaks out 'down under' so I don't have to.

"Warhammer is a world-wide franchise with a strong following in Australia and New Zealand. By placing our own server down under and running customer service out of EA Mythic, we can ensure that when we launch WAR, Oceanic players will experience the same quality of game play and customer service as North American players"

World Of Warcraft Makes MMO Making Easier

Here's a rather interesting viewpoint on World of Warcraft's MMO genre dominance. Rather than seeing the Blizzard game's dominance as a detriment to new games, EA Mythic's senior designer Josh Drescher suggest that it actually makes developing a new MMO easier.

"If you actually look at the MMO-sphere right now, that is since WoW launched, the vast percentage of MMOs that launched after it have been successful," Drescher explained. "Obviously no one has eclipsed the 10 million subscriber number, but there have been numerous titles that have come out on different platforms and multiple genres all over the world that have been far more successful than MMOs had been previously."

Warhammer Online On The March

Sure it's been delayed again, but look at all of the nifty stuff you get! EA Mythic has revealed the contents of the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition, perhaps in an attempt to get you to look beyond the release date, which they've done twice now. If that is their tactic, it seems to be working for me. All I can think of now is getting my paws on the exclusive Games Workshop miniature, hardbound graphic novel, and 224-page hardcover art book packed inside what is sure to be a massive, weighty package. Now how much would you pay? Wait, there's more! The collector's edition also comes with bonus in-game items, quests, rewards, titles, and even special heads for your characters, setting them apart from the plebeians who couldn't scrounge up the extra dough. $79.99 secures you one of these babies, but you'd best preorder now, as quantities are limited to 60,000 in North America.

Push it back, push it back, waaaaaay back! It helps if you imagine Warhammer orcs in cheerleader outfits, though that might just be me. Speaking during a press conference today in Paris, producer Jeff Hickman revealed that Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning isn't quite ready for the 2nd quarter release they were aiming for when they delayed the game the last time. The new target date for the ambitious MMO is sometime this fall. Considering the pace they've been keeping up so far, I wouldn't be surprised if the game wound up being a Christmas release. Just remember, it isn't a delay - it's an extended development cycle.

Warhammer Online delayed again [Eurogamer]

The team handling press for EA Mythic's upcoming Warhammer: Age of Reckoning MMORPG don't believe in information trickling. Every month we get a fresh blast of concept art, screens, and information in one huge chunk. Rather than split them up or simply toss them all together into one large gallery, I went ahead and split them up into easily digestible nuggets. This month we get information and screens on two character classes: The Sorcerer / Sorceress and the Disciple of Kaine, as well as renders of the elven zone of Ellyrion, some renders from the next cinematic trailer, and concept art featuring the taverns and RVR keeps in the game. First up is the Sorcerers, Dark Elven magic users who utilize the powers of their will to harness incredible dark magics, though building up too much power can cause the magic to turn on the player, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Warhammer Elf Mania

Warhammer Online Delayed

In the latest State of the Game article for Warhammer Online, General Manager of EA Mythic Mark Jacobs reveals that the game, once slated for sometime in February of next year, has been delayed until the 2nd quarter of 2008. Wait - not delayed - the development cycle has just been extended. Phew! Had me worried there for a bit.

As many of you may have heard, we have extended WAR's development cycle until the 2nd quarter of 2008. The reason is simple; we will not release Warhammer Online until it is the game we set out to create two years ago.

Warhammer Online - State of the Game [Warhammer Herald via SlashDot]

Warhammer Elves Invade Leipzig

"This is information fans have been asking for so we are incredibly excited to unveil the last two armies in WAR," said Jeff Hickman, Senior Producer for EA Mythic. "We have a lot of art and information to reveal and we could not think of a better venue than Games Convention to share these details with the growing Warhammer community."

Warhammer Beta MMObbed

Warhammer Online Careers - Witch Hunter

Beta Watch: Warhammer Online

Gallery: Warhammer Online Warrior Priests

Gallery: Warhammer Online Concept Art

Let Slip The Dogs Of Warhammer!