About two weeks ago, a bit of news hit the wire that surely made the ears of many an MMO devotee prick up: EA's announcement that it's in the process of buying out Dark Age of Camelot developer Mythic Entertainment. Considered by many to be the most accomplished independent MMO developer around, it was something of a surprise that the studio consented to being purchased outright. What would this news mean for the future of Dark Age? How will it change Mythic's current project, Warhammer Online? Would the studio maintain its autonomy as part of such an enormous organization? These are all questions that were drifting about, and we had them as well. Mark Jacobs, CEO and co-founder of Mythic, took the time to sit down with us and shed some light on the details of the deal.

GameSpy: Let's start with the inevitable question: Does EA's history with MMOs (Motor City Online, Earth & Beyond, Ultima Online 2, et al) make you nervous at all?

Mark Jacobs: Not really. Keep in mind that as an independent, if we fail with a game, the results can be disastrous; knowing that there are consequences if we fail to deliver with WAR for EA isn't something that worries me. I prefer to focus on the fact that Origins delivered on Ultima Online and that EA has kept that game running, almost nine years since its launch. The other thing to keep in mind is that even though a number of EA online titles failed to deliver upon release, EA was willing to bankroll the development of a lot of online games -- and some very expensive ones at that -- at a time when the market wasn't nearly as mature (and profitable) as it is now. Nobody likes to fail, but at least EA had the courage to try to succeed, which is more than I can say for almost all the other publishers in this industry.
Dark Age of Camelot is here to stay, according to Mr. Jacobs.

GameSpy: How serious do you feel EA is about the MMO market? How well does the company understand it?

Mark Jacobs: EA is extremely serious about the MMO market. You don't buy a company like Mythic unless you are serious about using its present and future capacity in the marketplace. After all, this acquisition, even for EA, was not simply a matter of taking out some spare change and buying a small struggling studio.

In terms of understanding the market, first, I think that the difficulties that EA went through in the early days of online gaming was quite a learning experience for them. Secondly, all the guys that I've spoken to at EA are online gamers and many of them play or have played Dark Age of Camelot. This is a passionate bunch of people that, based on what I've seen, really care about making great games. I just returned from an EA meeting during which senior EA personnel asked the different development teams questions such as: "Why is WAR going to be great?" and "What do we need to do to make this game great?" That kind of interest in making great games has me excited about what the future will hold for Mythic and EA.
GameSpy: How independently will Mythic be able to function following the acquisition? Is it possible to tell at this point how the day-to-day operations of Mythic will change upon completion of the acquisition?

Mark Jacobs: Mythic has proven that we are capable of delivering great games and as long as we do that, our day-to-day operations won't change very much, if at all. Our independence in some areas -- such as finance, legal, etc. -- will be more limited than in the past, but once again, EA didn't buy us to change our culture and how we do things. Frankly, as I tell people here, the person who will have his life changed the most in terms of day-to-day will be me.
GameSpy: Do you predict Mythic's focus changing in the near future? Specifically, can you see your team focusing more of its energies on the console MMO market?

Mark Jacobs: As you know, I love making predictions and this is an easy one. Mythic's primary focus will not change at all during the next two years or so. We are focused on creating a great Warhammer title and if anything, the resources allocated to that project will increase. As far as the consoles go, we are continuing to look at consoles as a possible opportunity for Mythic to explore, but as of now, we have no commitment to any of them.