Last week Electronic Arts took a big step in re-entering the genre they helped to create by purchasing Mythic Entertainment, the MMORPG developer of Dark Age of Camelot and the upcoming Warhammer Online. To get some more info about this development and what it means for both companies, FiringSquad got a chance to chat with Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs about the new deal with EA.

FiringSquad: First, how and why did the talks begin between EA and Mythic on purchasing Mythic Entertainment?

Mark Jacobs: As to the how, well, we've had a relationship with EA for many years, dating back to the early days of online gaming. So, we both had each other's numbers in our contact list. :) As to why, it was nothing more complicated than both parties knowing that the other had a lot to bring to the table. EA has the well-earned position of being the #1 interactive entertainment company in the world and all the benefits that go along with that. Mythic has equally well-earned position of being one of the most successful independent developers of MMORPGs in the world. Both EA and Mythic saw the advantages of being part of the same team and after that it was simply a matter of figuring out all the details on how to make that happen.

FiringSquad: Mythic has been successful with their Dark Age of Camelot title on their own and has always been a little bit of a rebel in the MMORPG scene. Why did the company feel a need to join with a large publisher like EA?

Mark Jacobs: I've never thought of Mythic as being a rebel but rather as a company that stood for and against certain practices in the industry. For example, I think my stand against the item selling companies, and things like that, are not acts of rebellion, but rather act of conscience. In terms of EA, all the people I've talked with at EA share that same opinion. As to why we joined with EA, we believe that by working with EA we will have the opportunity and resources to make the kind of games that would be impossible to do as an independent especially going forward in this highly competitive market.

FiringSquad: What does this new deal mean for Mythic in terms of extra resources to develop games?

Mark Jacobs: Well, EA isn’t going to simply open the bank vault and allow us to go crazy and nor do we want to do that. One of the things that Mythic has always done well is to make great games but do them in a responsible and professional manner. That won’t change a bit going forward. We have already been given additional resources for WAR and we are actively exploring what other resources within EA we can take advantage of as we continue to work on WAR. Mythic has never and will never be too proud to use whatever resources we can to make a better game, whether they are developed in-house or by someone else.

FiringSquad: Aside from Ultima Online, EA has not been very successful in developing MMORPG products. What does this new deal with Mythic mean in EA's long term goals for this genre and is it sort of a realization that EA needed help in those goals?

Mark Jacobs: EA’s track record with online games is an interesting one. On one hand they were the guys who developed the first game that had 100K paying subscribers. They have also tried to do some innovative games in this space which had less success. Everyone I’ve talked to from Larry Probst on down are huge believers in the online space. The acquisition of Mythic will mean that there are now additional resources within EA to help create online games as well as additional people from Mythic who have been part of the online industry since its earliest days who can lend their expertise to helping EA become the #1 developer and publisher of online games.

FiringSquad: How will this new deal affect the support for Dark Age of Camelot? Will the game continue and be updated with new patches and new expansion packs?

Mark Jacobs: There are no planned changes for DAoC. We are still gearing up to work on an expansion pack and to continue to support DAoC. One thing that you should know and that is that almost everyone who was and remains involved in the Mythic acquisition are DAoC players and fans. Draw whatever conclusions from that you will. :)

FiringSquad: How will this deal affect the development of Wahammer Online and what does Games Workshop feel about this deal?

Mark Jacobs: As far as GW, they are 100% behind this deal. We have kept them informed and part of the process from day one and they are extremely excited that the leading worldwide publisher of games is going to help take WAR to the global market. As far as affecting the development of WAR, other than we are going to get additional resources, nothing has changed at all.

FiringSquad: At E3, Warhammer Online was shown on both a PC and an Xbox 360. With this new EA deal, can you confirm that this game will be showing up on both the PC and next-gen consoles?

Mark Jacobs: I can confirm that we are going to be doing a PC game and that we look forward to investigating the possibility of taking WAR to the consoles. As you know Mythic, and now EA, has the worldwide rights to publish MMORPGs based on the Warhammer Fantasy IP on both the PC and consoles.

FiringSquad: Is it possible that support for Ultima Online and The Sims Online could be moved to the Mythic offices at some time in the future?

Mark Jacobs: There are no plans to relocate either team.

FiringSquad: Beyond Warhammer Online, will this new EA-Mythic deal allow for other EA properties to be made into MMORPGs, including perhaps the long promised Ultima Online sequel?

Mark Jacobs: Well, EA didn’t buy Mythic just to do WAR. Our mandate is to make the best MMORPGs in the world going forward and make lots of them. As to what the games will be based on, it is way too early to say.

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about the new EA-Mythic deal?

Mark Jacobs: Absolutely! We think that by joining EA, Mythic will have the opportunity to help write the next chapter in the history of online gaming. If we do our jobs right, the landscape of the leading online game developers and publishers will look very different in a few years than it does today.

Thanks for your continued support!

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