It involves drinks and dwarfs

Dec 16, 2008 17:21 GMT  ·  By

Mythic Entertainment, the developer of Warhammer Online, announces that they plan to introduce a unique holiday event for their MMO, in response to the fact that their biggest rival, World of Warcraft from Blizzard, has been holding something akin to Christmas festivities under the name of Feast of Winter’s Veil. The Warhammer themed event will be launched on December 17 and will go on until January 5, 2009, under the name of the Keg End, the Dwarven New Year.

Mythic says that the event will include plenty of beer for all players and a lot of fireworks. There’s also a chance for some fighting as hosts of Ogres and Snotlings invade most of the locations in the Warhammer world where players tend to congregate. Players, both Chaos and Order, will have to fight the invaders hoping that they get their hands on one of the rewards the developers promise. Up for grabs are the following: a rare beer keg backpack, a magic device that can teleport the player to the pub in each city or the in game title “The Drunkard”, which can be used after the event finishes.

When the Keg End festivities are over, the developers will also announce whether the long lost Golden Stein has been found. This unique artifact is said to confer the blessings of the Dwarven Ancestor God, Grimnir, to the player who uses it.

Mythic, the developer, and Electronic Arts, the publisher, hope to maintain the momentum Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has gained since launch. The game has surpassed 750,000 subscribers and the number of active players seems to have remained steady even as the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft was released. A successful Christmas event involving good rewards, a lot of in game beer, and a cheerful atmosphere might be exactly what players want from a MMO.