''Mythica'' was a never-released

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

(or "MMORPG") based on

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

. It was under development by

Microsoft Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

(MGS) for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

-running

PCs A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

until it was cancelled in early 2004. The game had been under development for over two years and had a development staff of forty at the time of cancellation. As with most MMORPGs, one would have needed to purchase the game software and then subscribe to the game service, paying a monthly fee. The combat design was centered on being a demi-god, including the ability to swat waves of enemies aside to focus on their boss.

Lawsuit

In December 2003,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

was sued for

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...

and unfair competition by

Mythic Entertainment Mythic Entertainment (formerly BioWare Mythic, EA Mythic, Inc., and Interworld Productions) was a video game developer in Fairfax, Virginia that was most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game '' ...

, the developers of the competing MMORPG ''

Dark Age of Camelot ''Dark Age of Camelot'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in October 2001 in North America, and in January 2002 in Europe. The game combines Arthurian lore, Norse mythology, and Irish Celtic legends with high fantasy. ...

''. Mythic claimed in the lawsuit that the terms "Mythic" and "Mythica" were so close as to cause consumer confusion, thus infringing on Mythic's trademark. On May 25, 2004, three months after the game was cancelled, Mythic Entertainment announced that the case was settled and that Microsoft agreed to not use the ''Mythica'' name on new online computer games and to not register it as a trademark. Also as part of the deal, Microsoft gave ''Mythica''-related trademarks and

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

s to Mythic.

Cancellation

Microsoft had begun promoting the game; the company had hosted a party at

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

for fans. On February 12, 2004, MGS announced the cancellation of ''Mythica''. Microsoft claimed the cancellation was not due to the lawsuit, and cited the competitive MMORPG market and a desire to not "spread ourselves out over multiple MMORPG projects." At the time, Microsoft operated ''

Asheron's Call ''Asheron's Call'' (AC) was a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows PCs, developed and published by Turbine Entertainment Software. Though it was developed by the Turbine team (with Microsoft's ext ...

'' and ''

Asheron's Call 2 ''Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings'' was a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows which was released on November 22, 2002 and shut down on December 30, 2005. In 2012, it was relaunched as a beta for act ...

'', and was planning to publish

Brad McQuaid Brad McQuaid (April 25, 1969 – November 18, 2019) was an American video game designer who was the key designer of ''EverQuest'', a highly successful massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 1999. He later co-founded S ...

's new MMORPG: '' Vanguard: Saga of Heroes'' for PC and ''

True Fantasy Live Online ''True Fantasy Live Online'' was an MMORPG in development by Level-5 for the Xbox. After a long and troubled development cycle that lasted almost two years, the game was cancelled on June 2, 2004. Available development and promotional information ...

'', an anime-esque MMOG for the Xbox console. However, as with Mythica, the latter game was never released. As a result of the decision, around forty positions at MGS were cut. Among those were executive producer Matt Wilson, senior designer Hal Milton and lead designer Joel Manners. Some commentators said at the time that the cancellation was evidence that the (

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

) massively multiplayer market had become saturated, though ''

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...

'', released in November 2004, subsequently became the most popular MMORPG in the West with over 3 million Western subscribers as of December 2007.

References

{{reflist Massively multiplayer online role-playing games Microsoft games Cancelled Windows games Video games based on Norse mythology