14 DAY TRIAL // As Codemasters is preparing for the launch of the NetDevil-developed MMO Jumpgate, which it hopes will capture MMO players that love space more than they love orcs and elfs, David Solari, vice president of the company, has made a few remarks regarding the future of Codemasters as a player in the MMO market.
As he put it, the focus will be shifting away from publishing and towards developing. The company has always been preparing for this shift, as "We always had a five year plan and it was always in the middle of that five year plan that we would start developing our own games."
There are no official plans to announce any new project until well after the launch of Jumpgate, it seems, but the company is working out what it needs to add to its structure so that it can become a successful MMO developer. David Solari says that "We are looking at that and we have to think very carefully about what title is right, what will work in the future. These aren't easy questions to answer and it's very easy to fail in the MMO market so you've got to take your time, be careful and be sensible".
Codemasters currently runs four MMOs, with only Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online having moderate success, though nowhere near the ten million subscriptions that World of Warcraft can show off. On top of that, the last few months have seen a few MMO launches that never really took off, the likes of Tabula Rasa and Hellgate London.
Codemasters is more than aware of the risk, as Solari thinks the MMO market "[is] the hardest space in which to make games, you see some really big, high-profile games that don't end up coming out, there's huge risks involved."
Nevertheless, he is very convinced of the fact that Codemasters has learned a lot by publishing MMOs and is now prepared to get into development as well. Personally, I wish them the best of luck. And I hope they do an underwater MMO.