In a farewell blog posted yesterday, ex-Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs started to tell his side of the story of the events leading up to his departure from the company he helped found.
The merger of BioWare and Mythic Entertainment into a single entity was shocking enough, but for some the real mindblower was the departure of Mythic’s Mark Jacobs from the company. Questions were raised in the wake of Jacobs’ departure: Why and under what circumstances did Jacobs leave? Was he given the boot, or was it voluntary?
Some of that fog has been cleared by a blog Jacobs posted yesterday. Though Jacobs’ departure was only made official as of this week, apparently he had long since already moved on.
“Early in May, Electronic Arts let me know that they wanted to make some changes within the Games Label and as a result of those changes I have been out of the office (and out of touch with the team, game, etc.) since that day,” Jacobs said. “To describe these past two months as difficult would be a great understatement as change is almost never easy.”
Jacobs spent most of the blog expressing his gratitude for the good times he had at Mythic. “While some of the team has changed over the years, we have always had a great team at Mythic and seeing, talking, protecting and sharing with that team is what I will both treasure and miss the most,” he said.
The largest looming question – whether or not EA forced Jacobs out as a result of dissatisfaction with the performance of Warhammer Online – remains unanswered. “If you are looking or expecting me to damn EA or anyone there, you will be sorely disappointed,” Jacobs said. “Over my 23 years of making games professionally I have refrained from attacking the competition, former and/or current partners, other game developers, etc. except on a few very rare instances.”
Two days ago a Mythic employee expressed skepticism that EA forced Jacobs out, saying that the argument that WAR is doing poorly is a false one, since the game was actually turning a profit. Still, one has to wonder why, of all the folks working at Mythic, Jacobs was the only one to leave his job as a result of the merger?
Meanwhile, Mythic executive producer Jeff Hickman assured fans that the changes at Mythic wouldn’t be changing the way the company makes its games. “It is a time of change and progress here at Mythic,” Hickman wrote. “As we move forward, I want you all to know that our love of MMOs, our passion for the games we create, and our commitment to our fans is stronger than ever.”
