The announcement that Mythic Entertainment founder and CEO Mark Jacobs would be leaving the company as it joined Bioware under the EA RPG umbrella came as an unexpected surprise to many – including many of the people who work at Mythic.
Massively’s Tracey John spoke with a former Mythic staffer about Jacobs’ departure from the company he helped found. The ex-employee – who has been keeping abreast of developments within the studio – said that the news, which was announced to Mythic employees this morning, came as quite the surprise:
“People are shocked and in disbelief about Mark leaving,” said the former staffer. “But they’re also excited to be working with BioWare. I can’t even fathom Mark leaving a company he loved so much, it was his life. Personally, I can’t see that this is voluntary in any shape or form.”
Massively’s source also indicated that other than Jacobs, no one would be losing their jobs, and that the 300-some-odd staff members would be addressed by BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka later today.
While speculation is heavy that Jacobs’ departure wasn’t voluntary, and that he may have been asked to leave by an EA unhappy with Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the source said that despite lower-than-expected numbers, WAR is still doing passably well:
“The numbers aren’t that bad, and last I heard the numbers were back on the rise … If you get half a million subscriptions out of it, you’re making your money back. I know the game was making money.”
