With the September 18 launch for Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning now set in stone, publisher and studio owners Electronic Arts today announced the PC MMO has gone gold and entered the manufacturing process.

The MMO has recently become the latest subject in the industry-wide crediting controversy, as past Mythic staff members will not be recognized for their contributions.

In advance of the game's retail release, pre-order customers will gain access to an open beta beginning September 7. Until then, check out the latest CG trailer

Not crediting the entirety of a game's development staff is "disrespectful of the effort of the game developers who worked on the game, and misleads both consumers and game industry peers," according to IGDA chairperson Jen MacLean.

The statement comes in response to word that Mythic will only credit current staff members for its upcoming PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, a move that excludes ex-staffers, such as one that worked on the game for three years.

"Everyone who is currently at Mythic who's worked on Warhammer is going to be in the credits," studio VP Mark Jacobs said of the policy. " And that's good enough for me."

While Mythic's policy is the latest example of improper accreditation, the IGDA affirmed that incomplete credits "are not unusual." In a recent IGDA study, 35% of respondents claimed they "don't ever" or "only sometimes" receive a mention in a game's credits.

The current lack of an industry-wide crediting policy and the abundance of accreditation issues was the impetus behind the International Game Developer... Read more

Following complaints that Mythic's upcoming Warhammer Online (PC) will not recognize the contributions of its former staff members, studio general manager Mark Jacobs has stated his belief that crediting the launch team is "good enough."

"If you're part of the team when we launch, you deserve to be in the credits. No question about it. That, in my estimation, is what the credits are for," he explained to MTV Multiplayer. "Everyone who is currently at Mythic who's worked on Warhammer is going to be in the credits. And that's good enough for me."

The issue came up earlier this week when an ex-Mythic employee told Shacknews they were not being credited for their three years of work on Warhammer Online.

They elaborated that uncredited work has been an "ongoing problem in this industry for many years," adding that that "the actual people who do the menial tasks... Read more

Mythic today released another flashy CG trailer based around its PVP-focused MMO Warhammer Online. And though the actual game may look nothing like this, it's still a great piece of work.

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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is planned for a September 18 launch on PC.

EA-owned developer Mythic Entertainment will not be recognizing former staff members that contributed to its upcoming PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the studio has confirmed with Shacknews.

"Over the years, we've had hundreds of people work on the game, and we thank everyone who helped us bring our Warhammer passion to life, but only current employees that have continued until the end will be credited in the final game," Mythic VP and general manager Mark Jacobs told Shacknews.

"Accreditation in Warhammer Online recognizes the incredible team that has poured their heart and soul into making WAR an amazing MMORPG experience," he added.

An ex-employee of Mythic, who requested anonymity, described the surprisingly frequent move as "dogging out many, many developers."

"This has been an ongoing problem in this industry for many years," they informed Shacknews, while expressing confidence that their work appears in the final product. "I spent three years on WAR and I, including many other people who spent... Read more

In advance of the game's September 18 launch, publisher Electronic Arts has announced that those who pre-order Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC) from unspecified "select retail participants" will gain access to an open beta on September 7.

EA and developer Mythic Entertainment had previously promised that North American pre-orderers of the Collector's Edition would be granted early open beta access, with participating retailers including Best Buy, GameStop, GameCrazy, Amazon.com, GoGamer.com and EAStore.com.

That pre-order initiative has now been extended to include the standard version of the MMO, with closed beta players receiving open beta access on September 7 as well.

"For three years we have been saying that 'WAR is coming' and the team has been working hard to deliver on this promise," explained Mythic general manager Mark Jacobs. "In just a few weeks, we are going to throw open our doors and invite more players into the game than ever before. They will have a chance to delve into the open beta and see for themselves that WAR has arrived and it is glorious!"

Ready or not, Electronic Arts today announced that Mythic Entertainment's newest MMORPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will launch September 18.

The publisher also announced that a monthly subscription will cost $14.99 USD, with slight discounts available when signing up for 3- ($41.97 / $13.99 per month) or 6 month ($77.94 / $12.99 per month) periods. "The countdown has officially begun. Mark your calendars! September 18th is the Day of Reckoning," said Mythic founder Mark Jacobs. He added, "For the last three years, the entire team at Mythic has poured their hearts into making Warhammer Online the next great MMORPG. We are so excited to open up this world and share it with the fans that will live in it, quest in it, go to war in it and make it come alive."

Mythic recently announced it had cut several cities and player classes from the game out of quality concerns.

Publisher EA today released a metric truckload of E3 media for its upcoming games. Check below for screenshots from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Dead Space, FaceBreaker, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Left 4 Dead, Lord of the Rings Conquest, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, SimCity Creator, Skate It, Spore and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (PC, 360)

Dead Space (PC, PS3, 360)

FaceBreaker (PS3, 360, Wii)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (PC, PS2, PS3, ... Read more

Quality concerns have prompted developer EA Mythic to remove four classes and four capital cities from its upcoming PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Though franchise mainstays, the four classes--Choppa, Hammerer, Blackguard, Knight of the Blazing Sun--were axed from the fall launch as they just "weren't coming out well," Mythic VP Mark Jacobs told MMORPG.com. The title was originally planned to have 24 classes across its six races.

"I wish we didn't have to do it," he elaborated. "I really wish we didn't have to cut them out, but it's better for them to be cut out than to have classes that aren't great and that we would spend more time trying to make them great post-launch than we should have to."

The studio's decision to scale back on the number of capital cities represented a similar issue. Initially, each of the six races was set to have its own city. Now, the game only sports two capitals, one for the Empire and one for the Chaos... Read more

Fresh from EA's Spring Break event are a bonanza of screenshots from the publisher's lineup, including Mass Effect PC, Warhammer Online and more.

Be sure to scope out the full post, as there is simply far too much media to contain on the front page, and don't forget to check out the whole of our EA Spring Break coverage.

Left 4 Dead (PC, X360)
Valve, Turtle Rock Studios / November 2008

Battlefield Heroes (PC)
EA DICE / Summer

Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3, X360)
EA DICE / June 23, 2008

... Read more

A few new screenshots have been released from EA Mythic's just-delayed MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

According to Mythic, you should now expect the game to hit this fall.

Developer EA Mythic has revealed that the release of its oft-delayed PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which was previously slated for Q2 2008, has been pushed back until this fall.

Alongside the delay, the studio announced plans for a bonus-filled Collector's Edition of the game. Limited to 60,000 units in North America, the $79.99 Collector's Edition will pack an exclusive miniature, a 128-page graphic novel prequel, a 224-page art book, 12 bonus quests, 12 additional in-game character heads, and an experience-boosting item, which is restricted to three uses of 60 minutes each.

Furthermore, EA Mythic noted that those who pre-order the Collector's Edition from a participating retailer--a list that includes Best Buy, GameStop, GameCrazy Amazon.com, GoGamer.com and EAStore.com--will receive guaranteed access to the open beta, early access to the live game, and two more exclusive in-game items.

Speaking of the delay in the Warhammer Online Forums, studio manager Mark Jacobs declined to provide an exact launch date, but noted that the company is still planning to release the title simultaneously in North America and Europe.

"Given the highly competitive nature of the MMO industry right now, we feel it is best not to establish a set launch date at the present time," Jacobs wrote.

"We've always told the community that when a delay was necessary we would tell them right away, and we’re doing just that," he continued. "I wish I could say all other developers do this but the fact is that they don't."

EA Mythic has released three new sets of screenshots for its upcoming fantasy MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC), currently in closed beta testing.

The latest deluge of media includes shots of the magic Saphery kingdom, cinematic stills and concept art.

EA Mythic's oft-delayed MMO is presently slated for release in the second quarter of this year.

EA Mythic's fantasy MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is still somewhere out there in the beta-testing background. To prove it, Mythic released a few new images of the game today.

These screenshots depict the classic tale of a man cruelly separated from his nature, a simple lumberjack forced to live out his days hacking limbs from men rather than trees. Truly tragic.

The latest Warhammer Online Q&A can be found at Computer & Video Games. Product manager Attaba Rahim talks about core gameplay, taking on World of Warcraft and RvR/PvE/PvP play.

MMORPG.com has a new interview with EA Mythic's Mark Jacobs, asking him about the Warhammer Online delay (story).

There's a quickie Warhammer Online Q&A on WarCry, asking the development team five gameplay related questions.

There's an interview with EA Mythic's Mark Jacobs on TenTonHammer, chatting about Warhammer Online at the Austin Game Developers Conference.

IGN and GameSpot both have new Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning previews, going hands-on with EA Mythic's fantasy MMORPG.

WarCry has yet another Warhammer Online, this time talking to EA Mythic folks about the game at the Penny Arcade Expo. There's also video footage here.