'Mythic' Brand To Continue Following EA Restructuring

Electronic Arts is combining BioWare and Mythic into a single development group, but Mythic will continue to operate autonomously on launches of Warhammer Online in Asian territories, while keeping its name intact, EA told Gamasutra. "There are no plans to change the studio names," said Tammy Schachter, sr. director of public relations at EA. "The Mythic team is working on ongoing live support for Warhammer Online, Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online, and preparing for launches of WAR in Taiwan and Korea." "Nothing changes in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities of the dev teams." This week, EA revealed that it would be restructuring its RPG and MMO operations into a single group made up of BioWare and Mythic. BioWare is currently working on the RPGs Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age, as well as the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. Along with news of the restructuring came word that Mythic co-founder, general manager, and figurehead Mark Jacobs would be leaving the company. Without directly addressing the terms of his departure, Schachter stated, "Mark Jacobs played a major part in the success of Mythic with his contribution as GM and lead designer of [Warhammer Online]." "Warhammer Online is one of the fastest-selling and highest-rated MMORPGs of all time. Mark is a pioneer in online gaming and is, at heart, an entrepreneur. We thank Mark for his contributions at Mythic and wish him the best going forward." In a report on online gaming site Massively, an anonymous former Mythic employee said, "People are shocked and in disbelief about Mark leaving. But they're also excited to be working with BioWare. I can't even fathom Mark leaving a company he loved so much, it was his life. Personally, I can't see that this is voluntary in any shape or form." Jacobs co-founded Mythic in 1995 with Rob Denton, who will be staying with Mythic, taking Jacobs' former role as general manager of the studio. EA said in February that Warhammer Online had 300,000 subscribers.