Blizzard Acquires Mythic from EA

In a press conference held today, executives from Blizzard Entertainment announced that they have concluded negotiations with Electronic Arts for the purchase of Mythic Entertainment. It was the boldest move yet from the gaming giant, and seen by many as an effort to stifle competition in the massively multiplayer online gaming field. Speaking on behalf of Blizzard, Jeff Kaplan - newly promoted to the position of Head of Acquisitions and Class Design - said that he welcomed the move, and looked forward to working first-hand with the new content design team in Warhammre Inline: Hardest of the Hardcore. "We're very excited about this acquisition. A lot of us were unhappy that members of the industry were getting away from the player-versus-environment focus of the genre, and hope to reverse this trend. The first moves you'll see out of Blizzard-Mythic will be toward implementing more instanced dungeons and toning down the amount of inter-faction conflict. Additionally, we felt that classes with the ability to heal had too much on their plate, so we'll be rebalancing that accordingly with an emphasis on healing and away from the offensive."

Players can look forward to banding together in groups of up to 50 to take down such fearsome foes as The Lag Lord Undivided and Exalted Champion of Consumables, all after clearing through entire legions of deadly pre-minions. "Our goal is to reward the truly dedicated - especially those with a penchant for sadism and self-inflicted injury," said Kaplan. "Fun, while an important auxiliary concern, will take a back seat to necessary coordination with perfection the likes of which will dwarf even the toughest encounters in World of Warcraft." For the time being, the class descriptions will remain the same, but we were told to rest assured that their base mechanics and abilities were being fundamentally altered to assist in this new direction. Kaplan goes on to say, "It's our desire to surprise our players, maintaining that element of utter helplessness at every turn. To assist in scaling difficulty, players will see the relative potency of their characters diminished as they progress through higher and higher level dungeons. These adjustments will appear in every other patch."

All of this helps clear up the sudden evaporation of informative updates being brought by former employees of EA-Mythic. Kaplan points out that keeping the playerbase abreast of even potential changes could have a negative impact on the subscription base, and it's best for them if they're left in the dark about details until patch day. He explains, "our primary goal is a total reordering of society within an MMO. By designing content that only a small percentage of the playerbase will ever get to experience, a natural reordering begins to form. In Warhammre Inline: Hardest of the Hardcore, players that are unable or who lack sufficient time to progress through the content will be able to deposit funds, materials, and crafted consumables into vaults belonging to the top guilds. The more that is contributed, the higher their reputation rises with said guild. Reaching the highest levels of reputation will allow them to purchase exciting and unique non-combat pets and tabards." Truly, WIHH will usher in a new feudal order, and allow everyone to contribute.