# 40K MMO Cancelled??



## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

Just snagged this from over at BoLs. Make of it what you will:



> Kotaku says THQ just cancelled their entire slate of 2014 projects and is going belly up. It's early, but the show could be over folks...
> 
> 
> via Kotaku,
> ...


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

well i think THQ has over stretched itself on the udraw tablet on 360 and ps3,from what i hear thats the reason the company is in the shit, the wife got it for xmas and to be honest its fun but not enough titles to be honest, plus they make WWE games and thats lost alot of its appeal lately. DOW2 was shite, maybe spacemarine didnt do that well either,so they think fuck it bin the MMO as its not gonna bring in enough money and they are well known resource drains and money pits if they dont do well and looks like bioware have set the bar pretty high with KOTOR mmo


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## humakt (Jan 2, 2008)

Plus the fact the MMO enviroment has changed. People are becoming less and less willing to pay monthly fees for a game. The last I heard WoW subscriptions are in free fall, although I don't know how true that is.


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## Jezlad (Oct 14, 2006)

Perhaps they realise it's shit and people will only kill and collect badger tails for the first free month before they fuck it off and go back to wanking.

What they ought to do is a league of legends / dota2 style MOBA game.

Now that would be awesome.










Imagine that... chaos lords, commissars, dreadnoughts, assassins - all battling it out in an arena controlled by one person. The penis is at attention.


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## KhainiteAssassin (Mar 18, 2009)

humakt said:


> Plus the fact the MMO enviroment has changed. People are becoming less and less willing to pay monthly fees for a game. The last I heard WoW subscriptions are in free fall, although I don't know how true that is.


WoW has about 5 to 6 million true subs right now. they always stick to that stupid 10 mill number but its a false number, which they use due to laws in certain countries, that actually prevent or atleast severely hinder direct subscription style payment methods, so all those accounts are technically active and count to the number, even if they havnt logged on or payed a cent in 6+ months


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

I had such high hopes for this one as well.






















































Bah, who am I kidding? :laugh:


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## stevey293 (Aug 16, 2011)

I've never understood why people will pay for a game then pay a monthly fee just to play it. I'll agree DOW 2 was pretty pants compared to the first one. Space marine needed a longer campaign. Wouldn't suprize me if they focused away from games-workshop tbh. A smart move in my opinion would be a total war style game.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

I call bull on it being cancelled right away. The 40k license is one of THQs biggest, there is no reason they would suddenly cancel the game.


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## BloodAngelZeros (Jul 1, 2008)

I'm calling bull as well. In addition to the previous mentioned point as to why it's bull, they just announced two months ago they were slating a release date of march 2013


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## Bubblematrix (Jun 4, 2009)

bitsandkits said:


> and looks like bioware have set the bar pretty high with KOTOR mmo


Unless bioware do something pretty epic to change it then I see it lasting 6months at best with acceptable player numbers, I am playing and really like it but the game will be old and stale when I get to endgame - but then again other mmos have had aggressive content release policies and managed to last 1-2years.

I think dropping it might be a mistake give that come 2013 Q1 there will be players floating between mmos again. But its a harsh market to be in, maybe they are deciding it is too high a risk, and if they want to be bought then it would be a bad thing to have in active development as it requires huge launch investment to not go belly up day 1.


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## KhainiteAssassin (Mar 18, 2009)

Bubblematrix said:


> Unless bioware do something pretty epic to change it then I see it lasting 6months at best with acceptable player numbers, I am playing and really like it but the game will be old and stale when I get to endgame - but then again other mmos have had aggressive content release policies and managed to last 1-2years.
> 
> I think dropping it might be a mistake give that come 2013 Q1 there will be players floating between mmos again. But its a harsh market to be in, maybe they are deciding it is too high a risk, and if they want to be bought then it would be a bad thing to have in active development as it requires huge launch investment to not go belly up day 1.


bioware is playing the agressive content release card. took WoW almost 6 months before they did any content releases, we are getting one already just under 1 month of official release.


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## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

We already had someone post about this in the gaming section of the Forum, where I also posted a reply by THQ. I'll link a reply here as well.

This is untrue.

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/16/thq-denies-rumors-about-cancellation-of-its-2014-lineup/



> Yesterday, a series of tweets by IGDA Mobile SIG chair Kevin Dent alleged that THQ was in financial trouble, and that it was canceling its 2014 game lineup (most notably Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online) and shopping itself out to potential buyers.
> 
> This evening, THQ's Australian PR department issued a statement to the contrary, as posted by VG247. "THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO," THQ said. According to the statement, the only reduction to THQ's lineup has been to move focus away from the "kids' boxed games sector" following poor performance of the most recent version of the uDraw. " Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business," the statement said. "We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry."
> 
> Note that THQ said it "has not made any decisions" about Warhammer 40k: DMO -- that's hardly a statement of unwavering support. Regardless, the statement is clear about the rest of the 2014 lineup.


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## Bubblematrix (Jun 4, 2009)

KhainiteAssassin said:


> bioware is playing the agressive content release card. took WoW almost 6 months before they did any content releases, we are getting one already just under 1 month of official release.


Good news, it needs some serious work but I kinda like the game so far - not rushing to end game as I dont want to spoil the journey


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## KhainiteAssassin (Mar 18, 2009)

Bubblematrix said:


> Good news, it needs some serious work but I kinda like the game so far - not rushing to end game as I dont want to spoil the journey


I havnt made it past level 30, not because I dont play alot myself, but because I am taking my time and playing multiple classes with friends trying to get them all on the same server all getting to 50 so we can all enjoy ourselves at that point.


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## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Doelago said:


> I call bull on it being cancelled right away. The 40k license is one of THQs biggest, there is no reason they would suddenly cancel the game.


Other than the fact it was a huge risk and probably not the best idea to begin with?


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## Duke_Leto (Dec 11, 2010)

Hmmm strange that THQ might be pulling away from GW as in GWs interim report available here...

http://investor.games-workshop.com/2012/01/05/half-yearly-report/

It says:

Licensing 
We announced in November 2011 that we had received a large royalty payment from THQ Inc. after 
the successful launch of their much acclaimed Space Marine computer game. In order to improve the 
transparency of our royalty income when reporting our results and in particular the correlation between 
reported profits and cash we have adjusted our accounting policy on royalties to recognise this income 
when it is earned (see note 1). As a result, operating profit has increased to £9.1 million (2010: £6.8 
million) and net funds to £15.9 million (2010: £11.5 million).


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Seeing as THQ has denied this at every turn and everywhere now, I think we can safely call it a case.


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## MetalHandkerchief (Aug 3, 2009)

KhainiteAssassin said:


> bioware is playing the agressive content release card. took WoW almost 6 months before they did any content releases, we are getting one already just under 1 month of official release.


Yeah, I was expecting them to do at least one thing different than Rift did but I am happy I didn't hold my breath or I would have toppled over blue.

April can't come soon enough... :wasntme:


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## Troublehalf (Aug 6, 2010)

THQ isn't making 40K, it's been hired out to a Chinese developer AFIK. 

Also, the point on SWTOR being stale is hilarious. They not only have the biggest publisher in the buisness supporting it (EA) but they also have a very well established fan base....

Furthermore, WoW, for example, didn't even have PvP until patch 1.6... And on Tuesday they are releasing new Operations.... So, not only are there plenty of raids on various levels, but each Operation has a Heroic Mode, then a Nightmare mode... So that's even more stuff to do, then there is PvP.... Datacron hunting, Heroic 4 Mans @ 50, Dailies, PvP in Illum.... Crafting, farming...

No, this game isn't going to die in 6 months due to lack of content. BioWare has already confirmed they are working on content due out in a years time. Thats commintment.


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## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

Troublehalf said:


> THQ isn't making 40K, it's been hired out to a Chinese developer AFIK.


Actually, the 40k mmo is being done the same studio that did Darksiders, Vigil Games. AFIK and Relic were brought in for specific parts of the project but most work is being done by Vigil.


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## All_Is_Dust (Aug 21, 2011)

Troublehalf said:


> Also, the point on SWTOR being stale is hilarious. They not only have the biggest publisher in the buisness supporting it (EA) but they also have a very well established fan base....


I remember another MMO that had EA support and a well established fan base... They didn't do so hot


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

There is a huge difference between distributor and developer...

EA distributor...
Bioware Developer...

Now which one do you think gives you content updates.... think about it, think about it....


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## Bubblematrix (Jun 4, 2009)

Troublehalf said:


> Also, the point on SWTOR being stale is hilarious.


I don't think anyone said that, but do keep laughing as it is good for you.



Troublehalf said:


> Furthermore, WoW, for example, didn't even have PvP until patch 1.6...


Personally I think anyone who compares a new mmo release to the wow release should not only burn in the flames of their own creation but is also missing a point - when the first motor vehicles rolled off the production line people were not concerned with ABS breaks and airbags, they are now expected. Any new mmo is being released into a completely different environment than wow was, the base level of expectation, past precidence, current money pressures.... and all the other factors make this argument moot.



Troublehalf said:


> And on Tuesday they are releasing new Operations.... So, not only are there plenty of raids on various levels, but each Operation has a Heroic Mode, then a Nightmare mode... So that's even more stuff to do, then there is PvP.... Datacron hunting, Heroic 4 Mans @ 50, Dailies, PvP in Illum.... Crafting, farming...


Yes, which is why I am still playing, I like it, but also I am glad to see an agressive releae schedule as this was one of the new things which Rift added to the "required in successful mmos" pattern.



Troublehalf said:


> No, this game isn't going to die in 6 months due to lack of content. BioWare has already confirmed they are working on content due out in a years time. Thats commintment.


I would hope it doesn't, but mmos start to die back a long time before they die, if Bioware play it right then SWTOR will survive a nice long time, they have had a good release, if they have content patches in the wings then that is also good. The only niggle, and this is a tiny thing really is that the interface is poorly designed (including the GTN - omfg don't get me started on that), but that is patchable. I am hoping this one lasts for a while as I rather like it.

Important question.. which server are you on? (PM me)


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## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

Bubblematrix said:


> Personally I think anyone who compares a new mmo release to the wow release should not only burn in the flames of their own creation but is also missing a point - when the first motor vehicles rolled off the production line people were not concerned with ABS breaks and airbags, they are now expected. Any new mmo is being released into a completely different environment than wow was, the base level of expectation, past precidence, current money pressures.... and all the other factors make this argument moot.


Well, there's still a big difference between what WoW launched with and what SWTOR launched with.

When WoW launched it had 1 zone of true end game content, Molten Core, and 1 "boss" zone which had a single encounter, Onyxia's Lair. That was the only max level content available at the actual launch of the game, other instances were designed to be done from 50-60. There was no PVP beyond world PVP, and no level 60 5 man instances. WoW did not get it's next instance until March of 2005 (Dire Maul, 5 man) and it's next raid until July 2005 (Blackwing Lair). 

SWTOR launched with 2 full raids (as opposed to a raid and "boss" zone), 2 max level 4 man instances, Hard modes (Heroics for WoW players) of older instances, and PVP akin to battle grounds at launch. That is WAY beyond what was available in WoW at launch. SWTOR is also releasing a content patch within 1 month of launch, much faster then WoW, that adds an additional raid and 4 man instance.

Before their first expansion vanilla WoW had 4 full raids, 2 half raids, 1 "boss" zone, 3 PVP battle grounds, and 1 5 man instance. SWTOR currently has, within 1 month from launch, 3 full raids, 2 4 man instances, 15 Heroic instances, 3 Heroic Raids, and 3 PvP warzones.

Comparisons will always show up with every new MMOs launch and WoWs, as WoW is the most successful MMO in history.

Now, these comparisons should be brought up from time to time as many people seem to forget what was available in WoW 7 years ago. While expectations may have changed over those 7 years, some people do have unreal expectations as to what should be in an MMO at launch. Expecting a game like SWTOR to launch with as much or more content then WoW currently has is outright stupid. Hell, Everquest is still putting out expansions and WoW doesn't even has as much content as EQ, as EQ had more then twice the number of expansions out (8) that WoW currently does before WoW even launched.

But this is derailing the thread.


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## Suijin (Aug 11, 2011)

Just snagged this from over at BoLs. Make of it what you will:


Quote:
Kotaku says THQ just cancelled their entire slate of 2014 projects and is going belly up. It's early, but the show could be over folks...


via Kotaku,


...a games industry veteran tweeted late yesterday that THQ had cancelled an MMO it was developing under license from The Games Workshop, meaning Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millenium Online (pictured above). Dent went on to say that the publisher had also canceled all projects due for release in 2014 and was in the process of returning intellectual property to their licensors. 

The purpose, Dent alleges, is to ready THQ for sale. "I am hearing everything (in 2014 is canceled), they need to preserve cash," he said. Dent noted THQ's stock price is around 66 cents; it was about $6 this time last year.

This would mean the Warhammer 40,000 MMO Dark Millennium is dead. It would have unknown ramifications for any products slated for 2013, which may include some 40k titles.

JUST IN: THQ responds:


THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO. As part of the ongoing review of our business, we have made decisions to ensure that the company is strategically addressing the most attractive markets. As we have previously announced, we have dramatically reduced our commitment to the kids' boxed games sector which leads to a significantly more focused release schedule moving forward. Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business. We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry. ~emphasis by editor
Not exactly a rousing endorsement of the 40K MMO there was it...

Hmm, if this pans out it would put the track record for Warhammer based MMOs at 0-2. Have at it. 


Well he needs to get his numbers right 0-2 does not add up to 3. Either 1-2 if it gets cancelled or 0-3, depending on how you view the released warhammer MMO. The Warhammer MMO was in development and cancelled by one company before Mythic got it and started over.


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## Suijin (Aug 11, 2011)

Otherwise as far as SWtOR goes, the engines seems to be about 7 years old already. LotRO was more advanced when it came out 4.5 years ago and EQ2 (whenever that was) was about the same advancement of the engine. Both of those had a good deal of voice acting in them also, and LotRO also had a built in voice chat system for groups.

I am not that impressed with the crafting system either. It is very basic and simple.

Content I guess I will see as I haven't really done much more than crafting and haven't had much time lately.


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

i think the real issue here is people reading too much into the statement "kids boxed games"
thq do not mean 40k, its not a boxed game for kids. they mean these 
http://www.thq.com/uk/kid
and the udraw kids titles that have shafted them.
thq would not be so dismissive of one of its business partners bread and butter range of products, they have basicly said, we are canning the kid console games as they are not profitable, if they were going to cut ties with GW and can the MMO they would be obligated to do so in a professional and business like manner.


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## KhainiteAssassin (Mar 18, 2009)

Suijin said:


> Otherwise as far as SWtOR goes, the engines seems to be about 7 years old already. LotRO was more advanced when it came out 4.5 years ago and EQ2 (whenever that was) was about the same advancement of the engine. Both of those had a good deal of voice acting in them also, and LotRO also had a built in voice chat system for groups.
> 
> I am not that impressed with the crafting system either. It is very basic and simple.
> 
> Content I guess I will see as I haven't really done much more than crafting and haven't had much time lately.


are you playing SWTOR on high? im assuming no, cuz the graphics change heavily depending on if your on low med or high. LOTRO and EQ2 are NOT more advanced then SWTOR, i have played both, and I play SWTOR now, the textures in SWTOR are superior. once the cutscenes pop in for chatting, you see the graphics kick in even more, giving the mouth proper movement for the words being spoken.

The Crafting system is not meant to be a main stay for people, its meant to be something you start and leave while leveling, rather then something you focus on, if you have issues with that, then your playing the wrong game.


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## Suijin (Aug 11, 2011)

KhainiteAssassin said:


> are you playing SWTOR on high? im assuming no, cuz the graphics change heavily depending on if your on low med or high. LOTRO and EQ2 are NOT more advanced then SWTOR, i have played both, and I play SWTOR now, the textures in SWTOR are superior. once the cutscenes pop in for chatting, you see the graphics kick in even more, giving the mouth proper movement for the words being spoken.
> 
> The Crafting system is not meant to be a main stay for people, its meant to be something you start and leave while leveling, rather then something you focus on, if you have issues with that, then your playing the wrong game.


The engine is not comprised totally of the graphics. While somewhat cartoony and simplistic, I like the graphics of the game.

The quests are generally better done than other games too, although still boil down to many errand run, kill X mobs, etc. I like that also.

NPCs are very static, and the worlds are very stiff??? Everyone is running around with companions. Many have the exact same one as you. You can sit there and do the same mission 300 times in a row, not to mention all the other people doing it a million times. The combat isn't anything to brag about, nothing new about it at all (except the graphics of what you are swinging).

I have yet to decide if I will continue playing for a longer time or not. It is a good casual game to mess around in. Since i don't have a lot of desire to play these games much anymore that kind of suits me, but it doesn't make the game play great.

AH and don't forget the starship combat missions, YEEEESH. I would like to fly my own ship please. Those missions pretty much boil down to a whack-a-mole/click on a bunch of shit meaningless part of the game. They had the old x-wing and TIE Fighter games to draw from, I'm not sure how they messed that up so bad.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Space Combat? Its a mini game and free XP for fucks sake. What were you expecting from it? 

Meh, I will take a week or so long break before getting back to the game and buying a new subscription. I have a very short attention spam with MMOs in general, finding myself pouring way more time into DoW and Space Marine.


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## Suijin (Aug 11, 2011)

It's not that the game is bad.

It just doesn't have anything new either, other than the SW licence.

The point about the space ship combat just proves they have the ability to make the game much better if they choose to. That's the mark of a good MMO company, what they do after the game is released. It hasn't been long enough to see how they do there, but they seem responsivish and the fact the game launched with that many servers and didn't have huge issues points towards the positive.


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## KhainiteAssassin (Mar 18, 2009)

Suijin said:


> It's not that the game is bad.
> 
> It just doesn't have anything new either, other than the SW licence.
> 
> The point about the space ship combat just proves they have the ability to make the game much better if they choose to. That's the mark of a good MMO company, what they do after the game is released. It hasn't been long enough to see how they do there, but they seem responsivish and the fact the game launched with that many servers and didn't have huge issues points towards the positive.


the red is like saying MW3 doesnt have anything new either. point being that it doesnt matter whats new on the table, its whats old and refined that matters. I do hope that bioware brings more to the table other then their story in the future, refines the space combat etc. but im fine with the game the way it is.


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## whiplash308 (Jan 14, 2009)

:'(

I was looking forward to a game like this in the future. How many years has it been planned and worked on? At least two already. Oh well.


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## LazyG (Sep 15, 2008)

Slight threadomancy but seemed to relate to this earlier rumour

http://geek.pikimal.com/2012/01/25/thq-abandons-licensed-kiddie-games/

Cancelling some franchises, especially kiddie ones but 



> They specifically pointed to Saint’s Row, Darksiders, Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000, UFC, and inSane as their top “core” titles going forward.


Good news for fans of 40k comp games! Now if only they'd hire the guys that did FoK (Firestorm over Karuva/Kronos) for DoW1 to do DoW3!


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