;)
Curt Schilling's sock
before he made games.
#5 Copernicus Project – 38 Studios
I remember three years ago, I got a call from an Associated Press reporter wanting to talk to me about “Curt Schilling’s Video Game.” I remember telling him that I didn’t know too much about it, other than the fact that it wasn’t just Schilling that he should be asking me about, but also his two partners Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore. Other than that though, I was pretty much tapped out for the kind of hard info this guy was looking for. When I was getting ready to write this week’s list, I realized that if the same AP reporter were to call me today and ask the exact same question, I wouldn’t be able to tell him a heck of a lot more. Ever since its inception, 38 Studios has been tight-lipped about their upcoming MMO.
We do know a few things though. We know for sure that the game is going to be driven by story. That’s one of the few pieces of information that’s been made available to us. We also know that the Copernicus team plans to roll out a whole universe surrounding this IP. Not just the MMO, but books, action figures, movies, TV, that kind of thing, to go along with it. A recent Boston Globe article also tells us that the game will be set in a “Tolkien-esque fantasy setting.” That being said, what Tolkien-esque means to the Boston Globe and its diverse readership may be quite different from what it means to a demographic of fantasy fans could be totally different, so let’s just safely say it’s going to be a fantasy game.
Personally, I have high hopes for this game, mostly because that while I am a firm believer in the fact that three famous names do not a successful game make, I also believe that by trading so heavily on those three names, a great deal of pressure and expectation have been heaped upon Copernicus. If the game is anything less than excellent and revolutionary, it won’t pay off the estimated 50 – 100 million dollar investment put into it.
;)
World of Darkness is a popular
pen & paper game and inspired the
Vampire video games.
#4 World of Darkness – CCP Games
It feels like almost every week, World of Darkness finds a way to creep its way onto my lists, but I would be entirely remiss if I didn’t mention this game in a list that highlights the ability of developers to make an initial announcement and then clam up.
For those who haven’t read it before, CCP merged with pen and paper mainstay White Wolf back in November of 2006. It didn’t take long for people to connect the dots between the MMO maker and While Wolf’s World of Darkness MMO. CEO Hilmar Petursson told everyone that was exactly what they planned during the merger announcement.. Since then, there have been numerous references to the game’s development by CCP staff, but no one will say anything concrete. Coy as they are, the developers have even been wearing t-shirts at recent conventions that say: “There are no such thing as vampires.” It’s cruel, really, to members of the press who have been clamoring over one another for new details about the game for years.
Will it be interesting? Yes. Will we know anything about it before the end of the year? No one knows.
;)
Tiny army men.
#3 Warhammer 40K – THQ
In February of 2007, the world learned that a deal that had been worked out between THQ and Games Workshop that would see THQs license to build Warhammer 40K video games extended to include an MMO.
The project itself is in development at Vigil Games, out of Austin, Texas. There isn’t much info about Vigil, but THQ is the publisher and I suspect a few of you have heard of them. Their lineup includes: Destroy All Humans, Smackdown vs Raw, and Saint’s Row but is perhaps best known for its role in the development of Dawn of War, a Warhammer 40K RTS that has been successful enough to spawn three expansion packs.
Whether or not THQ will use its previous game as a direct template for an MMO remains unclear. One is developed in Vancouver (Relic) and the other in Austin, after all. In fact, a lot remains unclear as little to no information has been released about this game and the Austin-based development studio behind the game doesn’t seem to have updated their website in some time.
;)
Guild Wars 2 sure has a logo.
#2 Guild Wars 2 – ArenaNet
Of all of the games in all of the world to not have any information about years after its announcement, it surprises me that the sequel to one of the most successful games out there would be on the list.
Since its announcement in 2007, information about this much-anticipated follow-up has been difficult to come by. The biggest real break in the case coming just last week when MMORPG.com learned that Jeff Strain, recognized as the “driving force behind Guild Wars” had parted ways with NCsoft West, although, to be fair, he had not been directly involved in Guild Wars 2 since he took that promotion a year before.
With any luck, information about this game will start flowing once NCsoft takes the full force of its PR attention off of Aion.
;)
Blizzard's other MMO does not.
#1 Unnamed MMO – Blizzard
We’ve known since 2007 that Blizzard was making another MMO. Not that they would have any reason not to, given the outrageous success of their first foray into the massive online space.
Ever since people spotted the job listing looking for next-gen MMO developers, speculation has been running wild about what the game might be. The rumors started out centered around Blizzard’s current line up of games. We’d either see a World of Starcraft, a World of Diablo, or there was even the off chance that Blizzard might be developing World of Warcraft 2. All of that speculation was put to rest though, when in May of this year, a Blizzard Community Manager told fans that the new MMO would open a brand new franchise.
While fans have been hoping to hear more about this very secret MMO at every single BlizzCon fan convention, there is no reason to expect that this weekend’s event will yield any more fruit than in years past. After all, if there’s one thing that I think everyone has learned about Blizzard over the last six years, it’s that when it comes to their MMOs, it’ll be ready when it’s ready and you don’t need to know nothin’ else about it ‘till then.
