Mythic Entertainment closes, ending era for Dark Age of Camelot veterans

Mythic Entertainment is closing. The studio, which developed the massively multiplayer online game Dark Age of Camelot, is shutting down after being part of Electronic Arts.

Adam W, a Bucks County resident, spent four to five years playing the game in the early 2000s. He called the closure not a real surprise, given the game’s long decline after World of Warcraft launched in 2004.

W first got into the game after a friend sent him a YouTube video and nagged him to try it. The video had low resolution, but the game itself received several graphical updates over its life, keeping it visually competitive with other titles at the time.

He started solo on the Prydwen server as an infiltrator. Later, he switched to group-based classes and led top-end PvE raids. It was not uncommon for a raid of 60 or more players to wipe on hard bosses. When that happened, his guild would drop to a group of eight and carefully push further into the dungeon, beyond what a large group could control.

By the end of his time in the game, W was in the top PvP guild in his realm, called Public Enemies. The guild ran a fixed group of eight players every evening. They looked for other groups of eight from other realms for fair fights. They also fought groups of 20 to 30 random players, which W said were often easier to beat.

When World of Warcraft came out in 2004, many Dark Age of Camelot players moved over right away. More left over time. Server populations dropped, and the English servers were eventually merged into one.

W tried to keep playing, but he had to quit when regular players disappeared. He sold his account on eBay, even though it was technically against the terms and conditions. The account had a realm rank 11 infiltrator, sorcerer, and paladin, plus multiple other characters across several servers. It was still in demand despite the game’s decline.

W did try World of Warcraft and liked the PvE side. He did not enjoy the PvP as much. But by then he had a job and a long-term partner, so he did not have the time to commit to the game the way he wanted to. He said being a student made a difference to his gaming life.

Now, with news of World of Warcraft: Forever, W wants to play again. He knows it is not realistic or sensible to start, but the idea is still there.

Mythic Entertainment’s closure ends a chapter for the studio. For W, it marks the close of a game that gave him some of his best gaming memories.