Games - Imperator Online

Home > Listing Index > Games > Imperator Online

	Games - Imperator Online

Imperator Online was to have been a new MMORPG developed by Mythic Entertainment. Once scheduled for an early 2006 release, Mythic announced in July 2005 that its development was being shelved indefinitely. The game would have used the same game engine as their previous title, Dark Age of Camelot.

Set in the future, the world of Imperator Online has a history divergent to our own - three Crux Points in history that shaped the future differently. The Roman Empire was reverted back to a republic, and survived significantly longer than the Roman Empire in our timeline.

This begins with Claudius (who historically became Emperor) warning Germanicus of the plot against him. Being a popular, powerful general, Germanicus is able to start a civil war within the Roman Empire, from which his and Claudius' faction emerge victorious. Neither of the men are keen on the policy of imperialism, they decide to reestablish the Roman Republic. The resulting republic stands the test of the time, eventually becoming space-faring.

More information on these crux points is given in the Imperator Online Dev Diary,

Now, part of the Terran Alliance with Terra Prime (Earth) at its beating heart, they are threatened by the Mayans who also spread to the stars - betraying Rome for possession the largest production facilities for antimatter as well as one of the largest known reserves of a mineral used in the production of tritanium (known to the Romans as the Great Betrayal). The game will supposedly open with diplomatic contacts from the Mayan Empire meeting with the Roman Senate.

Imperator Online's development was recently postponed, as Mythic decided to focus more on their upcoming title, Warhammer Online, as well as their current game, Dark Age of Camelot.

Postponement

As from the website:

MYTHIC ENTERTAINMENT TO POSTPONE PRODUCTION OF "IMPERATOR" MMORPG

Company to focus development on "Warhammer" MMORPG and "Dark Age of Camelot"

FAIRFAX, VA - July 13, 2005 - Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of massively-multiplayer online role-playing games, today announced the production postponement of "Imperator," the sci-fi MMORPG previously scheduled for a June 2006 release. The decision was made after a complete internal review of the project status.

"This was the most difficult decision that we have ever had to make," said Mark Jacobs, CEO and president of Mythic Entertainment. "However, our tremendous success with 'Dark Age of Camelot' set the standard for Mythic of releasing nothing less than triple-A games, and 'Imperator' was simply not meeting that standard."

There are no personnel layoffs planned as a result of this decision. Staff will be reassigned to the ongoing development of "Dark Age of Camelot" including the next expansion, "Darkness Rising," scheduled for Q4 '05. In addition some personnel have already been assigned to the new "Warhammer" MMORPG which Mythic announced at E3 in May 2005.

"Our team made a tremendous effort with the game and the praise it drew at E3 and in previews reflected their skill and dedication," Jacobs continued. "But in the final analysis it just wasn't great enough to be a Mythic game at this time."

Mythic will perform an internal reassessment of the game's features and make a decision on how to proceed with its development in the future.

The decision to postpone "Imperator" also means that the company's plans to establish a European publishing office have been postponed. It is expected that those plans will resume as the company prepares for its 2007 worldwide publication of the "Warhammer" MMORPG.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Imperator Online ]

Searches on eBay

imperator online