After 15 years of leading Mythic Entertainment, my time with the studio (and EA of course) I co-founded with Rob Denton has come to an end. Early in May, Electronic Arts let me know that they wanted to make some changes within the Games Label and as a result of those changes I have been out of the office (and out of touch with the team, game, etc.) since that day. So, please accept my apologies if you have tried to reach me over the last couple of months but please know I wasn’t ignoring you. Well, unless you were a gold seller making me an offer I couldn’t refuse in which case my email automatically deletes your message (would be nice if it could do that wouldn’t it?).
To describe these past two months as difficult would be a great understatement as change is almost never easy. I have helped shepherd Mythic through good times and bad, through near bankruptcy and through our many successes. During my tenure there my duties have run the gamut from being CEO/GM to doing some of our legal work to acting as lead designer and even using my personal credit cards/credit to pay for the phones we used when we launched DAoC back in 2001. While I will miss doing those things (well, some of them anyway) for the studio, what I will really miss are the people at Mythic. While some of the team has changed over the years, we have always had a great team at Mythic and seeing, talking, protecting and sharing with that team is what I will both treasure and miss the most. Mythic is, as always, more than simply the senior leadership there, it is the programmers, artists, designers, marketing, IT, operations, facilities, finance, community management, HR, customer service, quality assurance, etc. who make Mythic what is was and is today. It is those people, most of whom whose efforts aren’t usually publicly recognized, that deserve so much credit for the success of DAoC and Warhammer. I wish that team nothing but the best of fortune going forward as my respect and love for them runs deep and I hope, is well known by them. I will never forget the effort made by those teammates during both the development of DAoC and Warhammer. Whether it was the extra late night and/or weekend efforts or simply the passion so many of you showed for our games, your level of commitment is something I will never forget. I will have a lot more to say about this over the next few weeks and I will try, and I’m sure fail, to adequately express my thanks and deepest gratitude to many of the team members. While I always tried to show my gratitude either through the tools available to me as CEO of Mythic or GM of EA Mythic as well as with some personal touches, I will never be able to thank you enough.
Over the next few weeks I will be using this blog to thank certain people and companies for their efforts over the years. There will be a lot of praise, a couple of mea culpas (I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t deliver some of those) and maybe a couple of surprise shout outs. So, I expect this space to be pretty busy for a while. However, if you are looking or expecting me to damn EA or anyone there, you will be sorely disappointed. Over my 23 years of making games professionally I have refrained from attacking the competition, former and/or current partners, other game developers, etc. except on a few very rare instances. I have no intention of breaking with tradition at the present time and I hope my track record in this regard remains unchanged for the rest of my career. During my time at EA I was privileged to get to know a number of very fine professionals and I have some fond memories of working with them. As always EA has my thanks for their interest in acquiring Mythic and in supporting the development of Warhammer.
For those looking to contact me, the best way to reach me currently is through Facebook. So, friend me there but if I don’t know your name, please enclose some details in your friend request as a courtesy.
Mark
Filed under: Entertainment, MMORPGS, Technology, games, mmos, online games, thoughts | Tagged: Entertainment, games, mmo, mmorpg, mmorpgs, morpgs, online, Technology, Warhammer
What a loss! It was great to work with you on Warhammer, Mark. You turned Fairfax and Albion into fun places to visit.
Good luck to you Mark and thanks for all the hard work.
While I wasn’t happy with the final product WAR turned out to be, my time in beta was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in MMO games. I salute you for being a really stand up guy, always down to earth, and always respectful of the community and other games on the market. I also look forward to seeing what else you’ll be doing in the game market, and wish you the best of luck with whatever that might be.
WAR was wizzack!
Well, this stuff is never easy… you can look back and be proud of everything you’ve accomplished, and have a full head of steam into whatever comes next.
Good luck!
[...] [...]
DAoC was my first PvP game and I had a great 6 months with my Guild there. Though DAoC never had the staying power of EQ for me, I remember it fondly. I also had a nice bout of playing WAR for a month but by now I am so jaded (and burned out) on MMOs that I just want to quit them after a month. Even my resubs to eq do not last longer then that.
I hope you will do well, I think you and Mythic added to the genre in a great way.
Cheers!
Typical EA. They wouldn’t recognize greatness unless it took a dump in their front yard. And then, they’d just cover it up or sell it.
So, can you say, GEnie 2?
Best always,
While I had higher hopes for the launch of WAR, I have always been a Mark Jacobs fan. Looking back to the dawn of the MMO games, you’d definitely rank right up there as a groundbreaking pioneer in the industry (in my humble opinion). I wish you well and hope you are able to spread your influence into many more online worlds. Thank you for your many contributions to online gaming.
Mark you will be missed and although your out of sight at the moment, you are definately not out of our minds. I wish you the best of luck in your future. I know we will see you again.
Cheers Mark. It has been one hell of a ride to be sure. Thanks for always being such a personality, so communicative with your player base, and contributing your unique and constructive ideas to the genre. Hopefully, you’ll stick around because a lot of people will be interested in your future projects!
Good luck!
~Snafzg of TheGreenskin blog
(DAOC 2002-2004, WAR 2008-2009)
I was a bit surprised by your leave, Mark.. I always thought you brought a unique.. character.. to the team at Mythic Entertainment. Hopefully you share with us what your future projects may be. I wish you the best of luck
-Sketchit
(Random WAR player whom you’ve probably never heard of, who for some random reason has been following your blog for giggles]
Mark,
I’ve always appreciated and respected everything you’ve done, especially the time you’ve taken to interact with Mythic’s fans. It is my sincerest hope that you will be able to take this time and maybe work on some of those ideas and projects you’ve mentioned in the past. Thanks for making some of my favorite games.
Monica
(aka Sneezy from warcry.com)
(aka Phileas from the Warhammer Gazette)
Good luck with your next endeavor Mark.
I hope whoever takes over will *finally* deal with the CC, end game, and Bright Wizard problem that has doomed WAR from the beginning.
Mark seriously for the sake of god didn’t you guys know that it would end like that? Personally I understand that you can’t say whats going on behind the scenes but believe me, most of us already know how EA works and thats why this company has such an awful reputation.
I never understood why you guys didn’t focus on making Darge Age of Camelot 2. Mythic and Verant made the best PvP & PvE games but you both share the same mistake: you have sold yourselves to companies that don’t care about dedication/passion for gamers there only interest is $.
To reach that goal they’re willing to do everything!
Altough I never ever understood your flame war with Kaplan I think you did what you were meant to do because we all know that EA is an agressive PR company.
Sad to see Mythic in the hands of EA..
Mark mark my words: Bioware will be the “next” which is incredible sad because their RPG’s are incredible.
Mark,
Thank you for the 5+ years of epic entertainment that was Dark Age of Camelot. Your vision revolutionized the way MMO’s viewed PvP and introduced the world to RvR and 3 way factions.
While I won’t re-hash what has been said many times concerning the issues with WAR; I would like to applaud you for dealing with, I’m sure, the corporate structure and culture that you had shoved down your throat at EA.
Successful people always land on their feet… they’re the ones who pick themselves up, dust the dirt and BS off, and take off for the next ‘great’ thing. So here’s to watching what comes out of this.
Now would be a great opportunity to start up Mythic2 and make DAOC2. Here’s to hoping! Best wishes Mark, keep your head up, EA may have the $$ but it doesn’t know niche online games as well as you and the old Mythic team do/did.
Mythic owns the DAoC I.P, so unfortunately it’s not going to happen.
Mark,
I for one really appreciated everything you brought to Mythic and more important WAR, but I will definitely miss your passion for MMO’s and gaming in general.
Your stance on Gold Farmers/Sellers is legendary. I don’t ever hear anyone else talking about the issue with passion.
Hopefully you’ll keep everyone posted on your future plans.
Best Wishes,
Adam
[...] for the first time about his departure from EA Mythic. In a post on his personal blog titled, "All Things Must Come to an End", Jacobs talks about the reasons [...]
Mark,
I was just left speechless when I got the news yesterday; I just can’t imagine Mythic Entertainment without you at he wheel and it makes me fear for the future of WAR and DAoC.
I think EA will end up greatly regretting going this route…as they are taking a founding father of this genre and are making him possible competition. I have no doubt you will be back on another project soon. In closing I want to thank you for all of the fun you ave provide myself and my wife over the years. The industry needs more people like you.
Jeff
(aka Galen from the Warhammer forums)
For all the great times in Darkness Falls (the game, not the dungeon), the frenetic halls of Magestorm, and the hills of Hibernia I still roam today, I have you to thank. I’ve been a Mythic fan for a long time, and I will be still, though it’s certainly like rooting for a team with one of your favorite players missing. Here’s to looking back with fondness, and looking forward with anticipation.
Brian
(aka Deoath, Druid, Iseult)
As a player you get a sense about developers, producers, community managers, etc … from how they communicate with their communities.
Mark: you’ve always expressed sincere interest and emotional engagement with the community that you’ve been charged with, and we appreciate all your hard work over the years.
[...] little bit of journalistic info-dishing can be found here at Massively. Lastly, and most important, the man himself is writing again. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Understudy vs. mentor when [...]
I’m happy just to see you out in the community again.
You sir, can make a dead mouse more exciting than ground breaking world news of some sorts. You are partially responsible for why I have an unpainted Dwarf army sitting around my gaming rig (and for that I will never forgive you). Your presence in WAR will be missed, but I look forward to seeing what other whacky adventures you have ahead.
-Tyrhoor
Mark,
I really hate to see you go from (EA) Mythic. As a huge fan of Dark Age of Camelot, you’ll have to inform everyone what your next big development adventure is so everyone can look for it!
Take care and thanks!
Mark, there are several Mark Jacobses on Facebook. Is there a way I can find the real you there?
I have been playing your games since the days of DGate on Genie. They’re always original and worth a long look. I look forward to whatever you work on next. Good luck
Hey Mark,
I was shocked, to say the least, at all this news. All I can say is that I’m very sorry to see you go, but very excited to see where you go from here. I’ll be following you with much interest, and hope for nothing but the best for you!
Regards,
William “JoBildo” Murphy
Comic Artist – Ten Ton Hammer
(Formerly WAR Portal CM)
Despite all the criticism you received from several sources (we all know that trolls get bent over the fact that there is a game developer that doesn’t blow smoke up their rears), I’ve always been sure that you gave your best on your job, and for that I thank you, as I thank you for bringing to us two of the best MMOs that the market have ever seen. It’s expecially sad to see you go now that Land of the Dead is out. I’m sure you spent a lot of energy in helping making it awesome as it is.
You can definitely be proud of what you’ve done so far, and I’ll stay tuned to see what you’ll be involved with in the future.
Abriael of Classy Gamer blog
Good luck to you, Mark, and thanks for all your hard work over the years. We’ll miss you and hope to see more from you in the future!
Hey Mark now that you have some freedom perhaps you will take a break. After that you can focus on other things you have wanted to do. Ever thought of doing a Magestorm 2? That would be awesome
.
Two words…. TERRIS Online. Speak with Paul.
Hey Mark, don’t know if you remember me and our many weekends at the movies back in the ’80s (our giant group to see the original Batman might be memorable, but our viewing of Gary Busey’s Bulletproof where other audience members “sushed” us stands out for me), but I always remember you talking about your interest in games. When Mike Crossmire told me he was heading off to work with you I wish I had followed your exploits more closely, but hey, I’m a lazy bastard! Anyway, best of luck in whatever you’re gonna do next, hope it was as fun and will remain so as you always hoped.
your letter is nothing short of win,
you sir have my respect for being a class act.
Good luck with any future projects.
Maybe a break from MMO’s will be good for the soul. Plus it would be bad form to start knicking staff from the company you just left. Though I imagine your “contract” has clauses to avoid such a situation (for a while I imagine).
I always enjoyed your lead from the front presence on the web and I hope you carry that part forward.
Mark,
DAoC was the best MMO I have ever played. I was straight addicted to that game. It is why I didn’t have a social life in high school. That’s not a bad thing…it kept me out of trouble. The best memories of any game I’ve played came from DAoC and it will forever hold a place in my heart. Mythic just took a big hit imo. Good luck to you, Mark.
Mark i was there when Doac launched waiting for my box to arrive in the mail , doac will always be in my top list of favorite games a game that i played day on for almost 4 years long and we all know most mmo’s dont have that much lifetime anymore.
I wish you the best am sure you will step up and find people that will take you in instantly i think you deserve for all the hard work .
All the best , Albion for life !
Good luck Mark! I hope the future looks bright for you =)
DAoC and Warhammer are kick ass games and truely shaped how PVP is today.
Again, good luck in the future!
Mark,
Now, as always, you will receive nothing but respect from me. Your professionalism is only outmatched by the type of person you are. It was a pleasure working for you, but it was even more of a pleasure simply hanging out and talking to you. I wish you the best of luck, and look forward to your next endeavor. Whatever it is, you will have my full support.
WAR is the first MMO I’ve played. My wife & I really love playing it.
Thank you and good luck with whatever you decide to do next.
Thank you for some wonderful years of entertainment. I’m a 66-year-old grandmother, not your typical gamer, and DAoC was my favorite game for at least three years. I’ve been playing Warhammer since its release. Wishing you all the best in your new endeavors!
As a long time DAoC player and a current WAR player, I want to thank you for all the great memories.
[...] left many fans and colleagues stunned and confused. In a lengthy post on his personal blog, Jacobs explained the reasoning for his evacuation — he actually left the company early in May, when EA informed him that "they wanted to make some [...]
[...] left many fans and colleagues stunned and confused. In a lengthy post on his personal blog, Jacobs explained the reasoning for his evacuation — he actually left the company early in May, when EA informed him that "they wanted to make some [...]
[...] like EA threw out Mark Jacobs in the recent Mythic/Bioware rejiggering. Early in May, Electronic Arts let me know that they [...]
[...] left many fans and colleagues stunned and confused. In a lengthy post on his personal blog, Jacobs explained the reasoning for his evacuation — he actually left the company early in May, when EA informed him that “they wanted to [...]
Just like to say thanks for getting me addicted to mmo’s
DAOC was my very first and I can’t stop playing WAR!
As a die hard Games Workshop fan you were the sole reason I had faith that WAR would stay true to Warhammer, your openess to the community was very refreshing.
Please go work for Vigil and make the warhammer 40k mmo as awesome as War.
A class act, my respect in taking the high road when you could’ve really given others an eyeful.
Mark you and the team at Mythic, you guys saved Warhammer MMO project and but it WAR when it looked like it was never going to happen.
I won’t claim to understand why you left but to accept it and hope that you are just as successful (even moreso) as you were at Mythic in whatever you decide to do next.
Go kick some ass, make ‘em weep forever having lost you.
[...] left many fans and colleagues stunned and confused. In a lengthy post on his personal blog, Jacobs explained the reasoning for his evacuation — he actually left the company early in May, when EA informed him that "they wanted to make some [...]
[...] All Things Must Come to an End After 15 years of leading Mythic Entertainment, my time with the studio (and EA of course) I co-founded with Rob [...] [...]
[...] left many fans and colleagues stunned and confused. In a lengthy post on his personal blog, Jacobs explained the reasoning for his evacuation — he actually left the company early in May, when EA informed him that “they wanted to [...]
[...] left many fans and colleagues stunned and confused. In a lengthy post on his personal blog, Jacobs explained the reasoning for his evacuation — he actually left the company early in May, when EA informed him that “they wanted to [...]
So what’s up after Mythic Mark? Are you completely stepping out of the gaming scene as well, like Gaute Godager from FunCom did after AoC didn’t turn out how he hoped it would be?
Gonna miss you mark, you were always looking out for the games i love to play even if we didn’t agree…and no one could ever say you didn’t do your job with passion and enthusiasm.
BEERS BEERS BEERS BEERS BEERS BEERS
I’m a random WAR player and not happy to see you go. Light up the stage again brother…light up the stage. Until then….
BEERS BEERS BEERS BEERS BEERS BEERS
[...] “Early in May, Electronic Arts let me know that they wanted to make some changes within the Games Label and as a result of those changes I have been out of the office (and out of touch with the team, game, etc.) since that day,” Jacobs wrote in his blog. [...]
So what are you going to do next?? all this other stuff is redundant. I just want to see the future and I hope your a part of it.
Hey Mark, sorry to hear about what happened. I don’t know you per se but I LOVE the fact that you brought the Warhammer world into a MMO form.
I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done. I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been, but I hope the whole experience has been a net positive result. Don’t worry, the gamer base knows how bad EA is (and gamers happily pirate their other games).
EA shot themselves in the foot by letting you go, but what goes around comes around. They’ll get theirs. Best of luck to you and thank you for bringing Warhammer to the MMO market.
Mark,
I am sorry for the way things turned out. I remember the first days of Rolemaster Magestorm when I had a gamestorm account. Then along came DAoC and I was there on the first day then along came warhammer and I was there as well. I’ve really enjoyed the games. I hope everything works out for you and you can continue to produce computer games. Thank you for all the memories and all the friends that I have made through the games. Best of luck in all that you do!!
Well, I was hoping to finally meet you when my US Tour hit the Mythic studios, but I guess that won’t happen now. Might I recommend going on vacation? I find it enjoyable. hehe.
Best of luck and glad to see you blogging again.
~Gaar
[...] basically also points to the exit of Mythic’s longtime leader Mark Jacobs. According to Jacob’s blog the MMO pioneer is taking a sabatical for awhile and he leaves with a classy ‘I’m not [...]
I wish you much Bliss and a quality of ease wherever life takes you next…
Do you think you should be in the credits for stuff that was in production when you left?
[...] Mark Jacobs [...]
Wait so your saying my smite cleric won’t make a comeback.
Your a class act Mark, and I really hope you stick around in the gaming community, and make something really awesome. You always supported the blogging community, and that I thank you as well.
Rivs
A High Latency Life
Can I have your stuff?
Oops, sorry, force of habit
I have lost a lot of hope for WAR’s future now, without you at the helm. But I will definitely keep an eye out for your next project. You are one of the true pioneers of the gaming industry.
Good luck to you and thanks for all the hours of fun you have provided.
I found you to be more communicative than devs in previous games, and especially enjoyed the harsh crackdown policy on goldsellers. It’s a shame that you needed to merge your company with EA. Good luck with future endeavors.
hey mark, aside from trials of atlantis, everything mythic did was great. please consider revamping magestorm and hosting it for us long time dedicated fans .
This makes me really sad. I’m sorry to see you lose what was once something you built from the ground, Mythic. Honestly, this doesn’t me think any better of EA but I don’t know the details so I’ll refrain from judgement.
I had tried WAR but went back to WoW because despite some interesting game elements I found WAR to be too dismal with depressing atmospherics, lackluster sound, and uneven gameplay and game control response. It’s hard to describe and I doubt you need the feedback. However, I’m sure it’s guys like me that killed WAR because to be honest WoW was just more palpable and pleasant, despite it’s often lame PvP. Arenas FTL.
But on a personal note, I hope you can get on with another good game company and game, if your heart is still in it.
I think you and the folks at WAR did a great job (although you perhaps overhyped things before release). It’s just that you should have torn more pages from Blizz’s playbook on how to release a game with crisp gameplay, bright colors, and lots of LIGHT from the get-go.
No more flat, dreary, and poorly lit MMO’s from now on.
Go get ‘em tiger.
Mark,
I wish you a ton of luck in your future endevours, whichever they may be.
I’ll be watching for whatever you come up with next with whatever company it may be for! Whatever caused you to be departed from Mythic and EA, it was definitely their loss.
Mark,
I have followed you and Mythic for a long time. In fact in one of my weirdest recollections, I remember how I first heard about 9/11. I was in the Camelot forums on the Vault Network, as I spent so much time in those days. That is where I first learned that something was happening.
I would say I did not always agree with your decisions or policies, through DAOC and Warhammer. I played both for varying lengths of time, but I always respected your ability to communicate with your playerbase and to be straight. I have a lot of respect for you and what you have done. I was just talking to someone earlier when I heard this news that it had to be an awesome ride with a sad end for you since you built all of this yourself from the beginning of Mythic with those games prior to DAOC.
It would be great if you had some influence on future games. I think you are one of the early pioneers of the MMORPG space and deserve a lot of kudos.
I have not played Warhammer for a couple months due to issues, and was hoping to go back soon. Just won’t be the same without you being involved. Good luck to your future endeavors.
I really believe you are one of the only, if not the only, MMOG executive who was both a good executive and good at game design/development. Obviously I don’t know the details or what you did specifically, but I think I have seen enough over the years to form a pretty good impression of your abilities across the board.
Mark before you would step into any new MMO concepts or productions, take a look at how great and fun Aion is becoming. Its combat system is a total blast and very fun to play (unlike Warhammer Online). It actually reminds me of the good days of DAoC combat. And why is all this? No friggin’ annoying GCD which slow down your gameplay like a turtle.