Following The Lord of the Rings MMO, another online project featuring a massive fantasy IP was just announced, as Jackalyptic Games (formerly Jackalope Games) confirmed it is developing a Warhammer MMO for PC and consoles.
Jackalyptic Games is a NetEase-funded independent triple-A game development studio headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was founded by Jack Emmert, an industry veteran known for his long career in the MMORPG genre.
Emmert co-founded Cryptic Studios, where he worked on City of Heroes, Star Trek Online, and Neverwinter. Later, he moved to Daybreak Games, where he managed DC Universe Online and an upcoming next-generation action MMORPG. In early 2020, I interviewed him about both projects when he was CEO of Dimensional Ink Games, which consisted of the same Daybreak team spun off as an individual business unit.
That action MMORPG turned out to be based on Marvel IP. However, the game was eventually canceled, and that's roughly when Jack Emmert established Jackalope Games, which is now rebranding as Jackalyptic Games.
Its first project is the aforementioned Warhammer MMO. No details were provided at this time, though Emmert released a statement highlighting his career-long effort to deliver expansive MMO stories. He also said it will be a massive undertaking given the importance and size of the IP and that working in close collaboration with Games Workshop will be essential to gain feedback on the game.
It sounds like the project is in its infancy, so fans should probably imagine it may take several years to come to fruition. At least it's not the only Warhammer MMO type of experience in development, as Nexon announced the 'PvE multiplayer RPG virtual world' Warhammer Age of Sigmar in December 2021.
In that game, players will command the hosts of Sigmar and his allies as they fight to bring order back to the Realms. Each season, players will collect characters and enter new realms. Each character comes with unique options, stories, and gameplay. Players will be able to customize the characters and work together to guide how sections of the Realms are retaken.
Of course, Warhammer MMO fans undoubtedly remember Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the MMORPG released in 2008 by Mythic Entertainment. It was too short-lived, but it still lives on through the dedication and commitment of private servers like Return to Reckoning.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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