On February 21, a brand-new historically based MMO hit the scene – and it’s one that you may have heard of before. Myth of Empires has finally done enough to not just launch, but launch as a fully playable online multiplayer experience.
Over its first couple of days available on Steam, Myth of Empires attracted thousands of players and plenty of positive reviews. Given its troubled path to release, the Angela Game creation could prove to be one of the surprise hits of 2024 if it keeps rolling out the free DLC – as it has done at launch.
Worth the trouble for a likely hit MMO
Myth of Empires first appeared on Steam in 2021, but the studio quickly found itself enveloped by legal troubles. One of the main opponents to the game was Studio Wildcard – the creators of the ever-popular ARK: Survival Evolved – who accused Angela Games of copyright violations.
Still, the development team carried on crafting their MMO with the legal disputes left to the lawyers in the background, perfecting the game in case it could be released again. The intended full release of Myth of Empires was February 5, but even needing to push it back to February 21 allowed it to be one of the first major MMORPGs of the year – especially if you’re only counting the ones launched as a completed product.
The game revolves around having the freedom to craft, build armies, lead troops, tame horses, and build an empire within the vast sandbox world. This alone makes for a great selling point, but there’s also the ever-popular historical setting that certainly would have convinced a whole host of players to buy in.
In PC gaming, you could look to Valheim, Enshrouded, Kenshi, or Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord as clear examples of medieval warfare in gaming being huge draws. The appeal of these ancient armies and heroes clashing goes beyond video gaming, too. At all of the decent PA online casinos, you’ll find a whole host of games based on history and myths. Of them all, the Qin’s Empire series found at the 5/5 casino with a $25 no-deposit bonus is the most akin to Myth of Empires in its theme. Still, anyone can explore a huge range of ancient empires in online slots, including Empire Spins, Pride of Persia, and Vikings: Empire Treasures. So, it was a struggle to get it to release, but the setting was always going to lend the game to a wide audience.
Sound reviews and a lot of players at launch
To celebrate its launch, the new MMO ran a special promotion of 10 percent off for the first week, making it only a $36 game. In its first two days, the game garnered over 8,100 reviews on Steam. It looks as though the game landed well with most players as the summary review score upheld it as Mostly Positive so close to launch.
Of course, not everyone reads reviews, and the power of one’s hardware can influence a review as much as the gameplay itself. What really matters to the publishers and the player base is the player count. Myth of Empires surged to a peak of 47,619 players, per Steam Charts, and a 24-hour peak on the second day of its release of over 26,000 before the evening session had even begun in North America.
At launch, Myth of Empires released a bunch of new assets, biomes, a day-night cycle, NPCs, and the expansive Dongzhou map. If updates like these keep coming, the player counts will only get even better, perhaps cementing it as the hit MMO of 2024.
