Warhammer 40k

It seems as if the recent brouhaha over THQ's future was a bit overblown, as were concerns about the fate of the firm's Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online MMO. Our sister site reports that DMO is on track for "fiscal 2014 and beyond" based on a THQ earnings report released today.

We consulted our corporate-speak decoder rings and determined that fiscal 2014 translates to April 2013, which puts the launch window slightly behind the original target date, according to Joystiq.

Last month THQ debunked a rumor tweeted by Kevin Dent that had the firm canceling its entire 2014 catalog and prepping for a firesale.

Gamespot, meanwhile, is reporting that THQ is actively seeking publishing partners for the game.

It's been a rough couple of years for Warhammer MMORPG fans, and if the rumors are true, it's about to get a bit bleaker.

Kotaku reports on a tweet by games industry insider Kevin Dent that indicates that THQ has "canceled its entire 2014 slate of releases to position the company for sale." This would include Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, which Dent referred to as "the Games Workshop MMO" on his Twitter page.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

[Update: THQ's Australian PR department has issued a statement asserting that the company has not in fact canceled its 2014 lineup and "has not made any decisions" regarding WAR40K.]

While I'm on board the Star Wars: The Old Republic train (at least until SOE's Star Wars: The New Republic comes out in 2014 and forces SWTOR to shut down), I can certainly sympathize with the frustration that non-fans are feeling right about now. There are few things more annoying than not being into the latest craze -- or hating it outright -- and yet being unable to escape it.

So I'm here to say to you today that, like World of Warcraft, SWTOR isn't the be-all, end-all of the MMO field. It's a part of it, but just one part, and there are many, many others in the works as we speak. Mama always told me never to put all your eggs in one basket anyway, so I'm spreading my eggcitement across many cyber-nests.

This is the bone I'm throwing to all of you this week: a list of 10 Midichlorian-free MMOs that have me -- and should have you -- extremely buzzed about their development. In putting together this list, I realized that there are so many promising prospects that I divided them into two groups. This week I'm presenting the strongest contenders that should make it to launch with a solid product, while next time I'll list promising prospects that may be more of a long shot. I'm 47% confident that I will not forget your most-anticipated title.

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Despite being one of THQ's biggest projects, the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online won't be hemmed in with a single subscription option. Instead, the company said that it is investigating a wide range of possible payment options to be as flexible as possible for players all over the world.

Speaking at a recent earnings call, CEO Brian Farrell addressed what model WAR40K would adopt. "What we've done is make the business model within Dark Millennium Online flexible so we can use different business models in different territories and exploit the game on a worldwide basis," he said. "We will have not just one business model, like subscriptions. There will be other monetisation mechanisms in the game... The team there is being very thoughtful about how we maximise monetisation in this game."

Seeing as how WAR40K is costing the company over $50 million to create, it seems wise to offer multiple options in order to draw in the largest amount of players possible. The title is being developed by Vigil Games and is slated to release in 2013.

Mass conspiracy? Over-eager fans? Or deliberate misinformation? No matter what the case, it turns out that recent information about Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online was not passed down by THQ itself, and these "facts," such as the launch date and class list, should be treated as speculative rumors and nothing more.

THQ sent a letter to several media outlets clarifying the situation:

It has come to THQ's attention that some media are reporting that we've announced game details and a release date for our upcoming massively multiplayer online project, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online. At this time THQ has not officially announced a release date and any reported features are pure speculation. THQ will announce confirmed game features and an official release date at a later time.

We will keep an eye on this title and the news coming out of THQ as it develops.

If you've been waiting for the upcoming Warhammer 40k MMO Dark Millennium Online, you may have checked out recent single-player title Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. In an interview on the two games with Shacknews last night, THQ's VP of Core Games Danny Bilson described a potential conflict of interest between the upcoming MMO and any potential Space Marine sequel. When asked whether the single-player title deserved a sequel, Bilson described an interesting creative overlap between the game and its upcoming MMO counterpart.

Revealing that the MMO would contain more action-based gameplay than the MMO norm, Bilson painted a picture of Dark Millennium Online as an online spiritual successor to Space Marine but with the other 40k factions similarly explored. "It may be that the next iteration of Space Marine is a much bigger universe, where if you love Space Marines you can play that way," he told Shacknews, adding that "there was a creative overlap going on with Dark Millennium Online's development" and "there's not room in the world for that overlap."

If you're a fan of Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, you are likely pretty happy to have a launch date. You're also probably anxious for details about the game itself, which have been in short supply until now.

We've got good news for you though: THQ has released a huge list of data on design, gameplay, classes and races, and much more. The information ranges from all-encompassing, such as talk of art style and who is involved in development, to very specific, such as a party size of five, raid size of 50, and level cap of 60.

There's plenty more for eager fans: dual-wielding pistols and melee weapons (including chain swords), classes with three specialties, a crashed space hulk ripe for exploration, and much more. Strategy Informer has the complete summary, so head over there for your full Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online fix!

[Thanks to Merketh for the tip!]

While last week's E3 is still fresh in our minds and hearts, THQ is giving us a great reason to look forward to next year's expo: the chance to get our hands on Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online.

Eurogamer reports that THQ is committing to this time frame. Danny Bilson says that WAR40K will be the highlight of the company's display: "Next year, I promise you, next E3. I've already got plans for what the booth is like. The centrepiece of the booth will be that MMO."

We caught only a glimpse of a teaser trailer for the game at this year's E3. Vigil Games is hard at work on the $50+ million project, and Bilson says that it's looking good and on track for a launch between April 2012 and March 2013.

"It looks fabulous. I like it. I can't speak to it now, or people will kill me. But, I'll tell you what, it plays differently. A little bit... This thing is gonna be special," he said. "We're going to come out when we come out in a big way. I feel like we're fully competitive with the other guys. It'll be seven years in the making when it comes out. We're competing with the best games in the world. You can't mess around with this thing."

The first E3 tidbit on THQ's Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online is officially loose on the interwebs, and it takes the form of a short teaser video. When we say short, we mean short (as in, less than a minute in length -- 10 seconds of which are given over to company logos). Since the footage is heavily stylized, it's hard to tell exactly what is gameplay and what is cinematic.

In any event, it all looks pretty cool, and fans looking forward to Vigil's take on the dark and dystopian far-future setting will be left wanting a bit more. The video also plays it coy when it comes to WAR40K's release date, opting for a cryptic "coming soon" tag when all the pyrotechnics have died down. Have a look after the cut and let us know what you think.

[Thanks to Alluvian for the tip!]

Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!

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If you're wondering how many users it's going to take for THQ's forthcoming Warhammer 40K-based sci-fi MMORPG to be successful, you can keep wondering. THQ executive vice president and chief financial officer Paul Pucino did speak briefly about the budget of Dark Millennium Online, however, while addressing a Wedbush Morgan conference on March 9th. Pucino said the title will cost "somewhere in the area of $50 million or so to get these games to market, certainly in that range for Dark Millennium."

Pucino was asked about desired subscriber numbers for WAR40K, which is being developed by Vigil Games, but declined to offer any details. "We haven't gotten specific yet, we're a couple of years away here from release and certainly as we get closer we'll give some specifics with regards to break-even or target users," he said.

It looks like March 2013 is the latest expected delivery date for THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online MMORPG. Rock, Paper Shotgun reports that THQ told its investors the sci-fi opus should see the light of day in the fiscal year 2013, a period stretching from April 2012 to March 2013.

While news of the far-future setting has excited some fans, others are put off by rumors that the extensive faction roster from the source material is being distilled to a more MMO-palatable pair of opposing organizations. However it turns out, we'll have to wait quite a while it seems and content ourselves with the slow trickle of WAR40K news.

Other MMOs are predictable, lazy and lack the real "feel" of combat -- or so says Vigil Games' founder Dave Adams. In a recent PC Gamer article, Adams and Creative Director Mike Maza share their vision for Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online -- and it's all about bucking the industry standard.

Adams had a few strong words for Vigil's competition: "A lot of developers see that as an opportunity to cut that corner because there's so much to do on an MMO. They think people care about X, Y and Z. They don't really care about the feeling of the combat... Our goal is when some guy's walking past DMO they won't instantly know it's an MMO. That depends on a minimal interface: it's not a full FPS but it looks more 'actiony'."

The devs confirmed that there would be a wide range of combat features in this action-based title, including fierce melee brawls, intense ranged firefights -- and no action bar icons of which to speak. The team is working hard to recreate the tabletop's iconic world into a virtual one, designing guns (stubber and bolter firearms) and player-controlled vehicles (Titan mechs and Predator tanks) to look deadly, used and WAR40Kish.

The game will kick players into the fight almost immediately. "There's scenarios that introduce you to your character class. We'll throw you into your very first instance, to get a feel for a very player directed experience. Then you'll go to your trainers and merchants, then drop down onto the over-world from orbit," Maza said.

You can read the full article at PC Gamer.

Hungry for information -- any information at all -- on Vigil Games' upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online? Did you watch the Imperium of Man trailer and gibber, "More! MORE!" So did we. Unfortunately, it was looking like we'd have to be content with hints...

...but fortunately, Games On Net cornered David Adams, Vigil Games' GM, and pumped him for further details. While Adams was reluctant to go into the specifics of gameplay, he did open up about WAR40K's engine, which is the same one the company used for Darksiders. The engine is being tweaked for the MMO, although Adams testified that it was already great with portraying a seamless world, which should be perfect for WAR40K's needs. DirectX 11 is also slated for inclusion.

So will the graphic requirements be low enough that the game could run on a toaster, or will it be a high-performance-only excursion? While Adams admits that the necessary graphic options will take a decent machine to run well, he's hoping to have as many visual toggles as possible so that WAR40K can reach a wider audience. He wouldn't say how many characters he expects the engine to handle in a certain area, other than to claim: "Big, it's 40K, it's all about big giant battlefields."

You can watch the full video over at Games On Net.