At this point, we know that Zenimax Media, Bethesda's parent company, opened up an MMO division headed by Dark Age of Camelot's Matt Firor and have been working on an unannounced game. What we didn't know was that Bethesda let slip some information in the court case against Interplay, and now they have filed to redact those statements so their competitors can't find out about it.
A trusted source who wishes to remain anonymous informed DAC of these actions being taken by Bethesda. The deadline to file for redactions of testimony was yesterday, 19 January 2010. As we learned from previous transcripts leaks, there are 218 pages of transcripts from the preliminary injunction hearing between Interplay and Bethesda. We've only been able to get our hands on a few pages, but what we've seen has been enlightening. What Bethesda doesn't want us to see is information about their in-the-works MMO.
The big trade secret?: Bethesda has "tens and tens of millions of dollars" and "close to a hundred people"working on a "secret" "World Of Warcraft" type MMO and they don't want their competitors knowing about it. They've been working on it pretty heavily since 2007 after assigning the team in late 2006. According to testimony given by Bethesda, the development timetable for an MMO is 4 years, so that would mean they would be releasing this game next year.
Bethesda also does not want their competitors, whether Interplay or big MMO competitors like Blizzard, to know whether it's Fallout MMO or not. Based on testimony released on DAC, they are not working on a Fallout MMO and they cannot start working on one until they win the rights from Interplay. Technically speaking, that means no Fallout MMO from Bethesda until 2014 at the earliest if the court case gets settled soon and in Bethesda's favor. However, if they are working on a Fallout MMO anyway, which would mean perjury and therefore highly unlikely [edit:And just so people aren't confused, I am in no way suggesting Bethesda committed perjury], next year might see a Fallout MMO from Bethesda.
Hopefully we can get our hands on the parts of the transcripts Bethesda wants redacted, which we'll then report back to you. Stay tuned! So in the meantime, relax, practice your meditation and be patient.
Link: Transcripts on DAC Part 1
Link: Transcripts on DAC Part 2
UPDATE: DAC has learned that all of these transcripts are publically available at the Maryland courts, so if anyone reading this lives in Maryland, head over there, grab them while you can and send them in to DAC!
UPDATE 2: Looks like it's an Elder Scrolls MMO. |
