Mythic's efforts aided by WoW, planning ahead
In a recent interview Warhammer Online senior designer Josh Drescher remarked that World of Warcraft has actually made it considerably easier for other MMOs to succeed in the market, contrary to popular belief. While nobody has come close to dethroning the Blizzard juggernaut and its 10 million subscribers, WoW has done a lot to expand the the potential user-base, and for that Mythic is grateful. Drescher notes in the interview the rate of success in a post-WoW world is considerably higher than it was before, making for a more friendly marketplace to release a game.
It's this kind of mind for market dynamics and future-planning that's really coming to define the modern MMO game designer. For them, retail release is only the beginning of a long process that can extend as far as ten years into the future. So when it appeared during the interview that Drescher suggested that the Warhammer Online team had content planned out five years in advance, some people were understandably confused about the scope of Mythic's development efforts. Was the game delayed to implement content intended for half a decade from now?
No, responded Drescher in his personal blog, not exactly. They haven't developed the assets for the next five years, and far from it. What was intended in the original comment was that they feel like their game mechanics and various incentive treadmills are scaled to grow and will keep players engaged as far as five years in the future. We'll be content at this point if they stick to their schedule for a release later this year.
