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Jagex closing down browser-based 8Realms
More MMO layoffs are in the news this week as noted free-to-play maker Jagex is shuttering its browser-based 8Realms project. A source told Massively that the social empire-building game "has been a major (and very expensive) flop. Many of us are losing our jobs, some are being moved to other departments." We contacted Jagex for an official comment and were provided a statement by COO Daniel Clough: "Jagex has always been committed to creating fun and compelling games. During the 8Realms beta it has become clear that the game doesn't meet our high expectations for success and we are therefore channeling our focus on other exciting opportunities in the pipeline."
Free for All: New browser-based converts shine light on issues
I recently threw out a prediction that within five years, most of our MMO content will be coming through our browsers. To be more specific, I think that most players in the United States will be enjoying their favorite MMOs within a browser. That can mean several things but does not refer to games like Free Realms, a client-based game that is only signed-into at the browser level. As with any discussion about genres, mechanics or styles in the MMO world, I have to be very specific. It's pretty likely that a very large percentage of the US playerbase is already playing browser-based games. Look at the American market for games like RuneScape, Battlestar Galactica Online, Club Penguin, Drakensang Online, Evony, and Ministry of War and you might just find millions of players. Next we need to consider that there are more games coming into the browser market. This new batch is essentially a group of standard, client-based MMOs that are porting themselves to the browser. I tend to be a little skeptical about some of these in the short-term, for several reasons.
MMObility: Reaching the MMORTS sweet-spot, slowly
As a player of many MMORTS titles, I have grown to understand that patience is not only a virtue but a necessity. Many titles from the genre are designed to make you spend real time to do anything. It's not that they are boring or tedious; instead, they are representing what it might be like to actually grow an army or trade hub and to explore the often massive world around you. The pacing is meant to be slow. These are not games of instant leveling or non-stop quest grinding. They're meant to be played in as little as a few minutes per day. This explains a lot of their success -- just imagine how popular they are with time-strapped players. There is a time, however, after months of toiling away at building up various structures, growing a small army, or finally getting to the maxed out level in a certain area, when you can finally settle down for some real gameplay. It might sound silly to have to wait that long for glory, but come on... this is city-building we are talking about. It takes time.
The Soapbox: My MMORTS is more MMO than your MMORPG
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Have you ever played an MMORTS? No, I'm not talking about a single-player PC strategy game or city sim; I mean an MMORTS. There are so many to choose from that it would be hard for me to even begin to list them all, but I'll try. There's Illyriad, Ministry of War, Evony, Call of Gods, Dragons of Atlantis, Thirst of Night, 8Realms, Lord of Ultima, Golden Age and many, many others. Either you recognize some of those titles or you do not. Oddly enough, I've found that many standard, three-dimensional-world explorers do not consider MMORTS titles to be MMOs. I'm not sure why, but every time I stream an MMORTS live or write about one, I have to answer, at least once, the concern from the audience that what I am playing is not really an MMO. The reality is that the MMORTS, as a design mechanic, genre, and style, is very much an MMO. I'd like to explain why in the hopes that many of you might grow to enjoy the genre as much as I do and that some much-needed light shines on the fact that the MMORTS is actually one of the last true MMOs around. I think the task is to define "MMO" and to show how MMORTS fits in. We've attempted it before, but for a quick refresher, let's go over what I consider an MMO to be. You can add your own definitions in the comments section. I have no problems admitting that my definition could probably use some tweaking.
Ancient and modern clash in new 8Realms trailer
Jagex, creator of the hit browser-based MMO RuneScape, is fixing to break out its latest title: the social empire-building strategy title 8Realms. In 8Realms, players are put in charge of an ancient, primitive civilization, and they're responsible for raising their nascent society into a far-reaching, world-spanning empire. Whether they accomplish this goal through warfare, diplomacy, or other means is up to them. To get a taste of the kind of absurdity you can expect from 8Realms, click on past the cut for a new trailer, then click on over to the official site to build your own empire. Just be sure to watch out for predatory automobiles. [Source: Jagex press release]
'Staunchly British' Jagex sets the record straight about its new ownership
Jagex doesn't take kindly to being called an American company these days, it appears. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, CEO Mark Gerhard set the record straight about the recently reported deal that put the British game studio under the purview of an American investment firm. Because the deal was made earlier last year, Gerhard sees this as old news and stressed that the company was trucking on much the same as it ever was. "The insinuation that this is a company that somehow now is run by bankers in the US again couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "Sure we therefore have some American shareholders, but the management and the culture and the ethos and everything else is the same people, in the same hands, and staunchly British." He also clarified why the studio's profits were reported to be down: "If you look at our company's house filings, revenues are up but profits are down, and those aren't because we're doing a crap job, that's because we're consciously taking those profits and ploughing them back into the business." Gerhard said that the company was "very, very selective" when it came to investors, and that it feels completely comfortable with the current board of directors. He said that the new investors were not interfering with the day-to-day development and operations of Jagex's ever-expanding library of titles: "I'm very excited for the year ahead and everyone in the studio is very focused on, not just making RuneScape and 8Realms a financial success, but our work on Stellar Dawn and even Transformers coming together to make truly great games for this year."
God save the green: Deal makes Jagex a US company
Jagex is trading up the Union Jack for the Stars and Stripes, as controlling interest in the studio has changed hands to a US firm. Insight Venture Partners, a venture capital firm from the US, completed a deal last year to increase its ownership to 55% of the UK-based company. Previously, the firm had 35% interest in Jagex. Now that the scales have tipped to the new ownership, this technically makes Jagex a US-controlled company and has US investors leading its board of directors. While revenues were up 2% for Jagex in 2011, both operating and net profits were significantly down from the previous financial year. Jagex is a major player in the MMO free-to-play market, with RuneScape, Transformers Universe, and 8Realms as part of its project portfilio. Develop reports that the controlling interest was made possible by Jagex co-founder Andrew Gower selling off his ownership claims to the firm for $115.65 million. As part of the deal, Jagex paid $3.85 million in expenses. The studio will remain in Cambridge while its controlling firm is in NYC.
MMObility: Checking out 8Realms from Jagex
Jagex, maker of the very popular browser-based MMO RuneScape, has branched out into the world of the MMORTS. I call this a good thing, especially since I am such a fan of the genre. There are literally scores and scores of the strategy-based city builders out there. Many of them not only are similar to each other but offer nothing new, not even a slight twist in design. I have a few favorites like Illyriad, Golden Age, and Aloriah, so I was eager to jump into this new one, given that it is made by one of my favorite design studios. 8realms seems to sport a unique design. Players are asked to build up their cities and advance through different ages, from ancient times all the way up to the modern day. A trailer on the front page of the official website shows a commander admiring his army of sword- and spearmen, until suddenly a modern-day jet fighter nukes them to smithereens. All I could think was, "Is this game balanced?" If you would like to join in on the fun along with me, you can join in VIP access by going to the official site and using the code MASSIVELY15 when prompted. Then come back and click past the cut to hear all about my experience!
Begin your 8Realms empire with a closed beta key from Massively
We first heard about 8Realms back in May, and Jagex's social empire game has progressed to the closed beta stage of development. The development team has provided some fun incentives to join closed beta, including an iPod touch giveaway every day until August 17th. If you're interested in trying the game, we've got beta key access for you. This giveaway has a bit of a twist, however, as we have a single code that can be used 3,000 times. All you need to do is visit the 8Realms signup page, log in with your Jagex account (or create an account if you don't have one), and when prompted to enter your beta key, enter "Columbus." It's as simple as that for the first 3,000 Massively readers to enter the code, so head to the signup page and get your empire underway!
Jagex preparing to conquer the world with 8Realms
"What's next?" is the question on everyone's lips when it comes to successful MMO studio Jagex. The RuneScape developer has many projects in the works, including Stellar Dawn and Transformers Online. However, the company is hoping that you'll also take notice of 8Realms, its social empire builder that lets you cultivate a civilization from scratch and conquer the world with your cunning. As 8Realms entered closed beta this past week, Lead Developer Claire Blackshaw spoke with CVG about the game's focus. "Our approach is always a strategy first and social second," she said. "Though I do think the most appealing aspect of games such as Diplomacy is the social element." She thinks that the game can challenge genre favorite titles like Civilization and Total War while remaining accessible to the lunch break strategist: "8Realms can fit into your day, firing it up at lunch to launch a few attacks or make sure your research is going as planned. Also because of the social element you have wars break out which get you very worked up." The team is also proud of how far it has advanced the capability of browser-based games alone. "We made current browser tech jump through hoops, and using our own server-side technology pushed what's possible in terms of scaling," Blackshaw said.
