Warhammer Online to shut down this December

I'm pretty surprised by the news that Warhammer Online is scheduled for closure. Mostly that's because I'd largely forgotten about it. Er, whoops, that can't have helped matters. Mythic's fantasy MMO had been quietly existing in the background, after a promising 2008 launch, and a subsequent and continual decline in subscribers. Now, it's due to end this December, with its creators citing the end of their licensing deal with Games Workshop.

"We here at Mythic have built an amazing relationship working with Games Workshop creating and running Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning over the last 8 years," announce the Warhammer Team. "Unfortunately, as with all licensing deals they do eventually come to end and on December 18th, 2013 we will no longer be operating Warhammer Online." Already, Mythic have disabled the purchase of three-month game time codes and auto-renewals, ensuring players aren't paying for time beyond the closure date.

Producer Carrie Gouskos provides a more heartfelt assessment of the end, writing, "some of the most talented people in gaming made Warhammer possible. They worked insanely long hours, and they put their heart and soul into trying to make this beautiful IP a living and breathing universe."

Meanwhile, other projects hope to continue the spirit of Mythic's history. Former Warhammer Online lead designer Mark Jacobs is currently working on Camelot Unchained , a post-apocalyptic fantasy MMO that raised over $2 million on Kickstarter.

Thanks, Gamasutra .

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.