Game News Might & Magic X: Legacy Released

[Infinitron]

Tags: Limbic Entertainment; Might & Magic X: Legacy; Ubisoft

The next January of Incline release, coming right on the heels of Blackguards, is another title produced in Germany - Limbic Entertainment's completely unexpected (and unexpectedly faithful) sequel to the Might and Magic franchise, Might & Magic X: Legacy.

​

If you've been following the news about this game, then you probably know all about the story of how it came to be, so I won't repeat that here. Instead, I'd like to talk a bit about what Might & Magic X means.

Over the years, many great RPG developers have found mainstream success by leaving their hardcore roots behind and producing watered down consolized action-RPGs instead. And every time that has happened, they've been begged to take just a fraction of those big profits and use it to develop a hardcore RPG to make their old fans happy. The answer is always the same: "We can't make those kinds of games anymore. The world has moved on. Computer roleplaying games are just not contemporary."

Well, as of today, that bullshit has finally been exposed for what it is. The year is 2014 and we are playing a turn-based blobber RPG produced by one of the largest game publishers in the world. Julien Pirou has laid waste to the misconceptions of an entire industry, and for that he should be regarded as a hero of the RPG genre. Might & Magic X: Legacy is available now, on Steam or directly from Uplay, for the low price of $25.

 

[Barghest]

Is it going to be available on GOG?

 

[Infinitron]

Is it going to be available on GOG?

Not in the foreseeable future.

 

[Dorateen]

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!

I come from a pen and paper, Dungeons & Dragons background, but Might & Magic II was the first computer role-playing game I ever played. So the franchise has always had a special meaning for me.

This is a proud day.

 

[VonVentrue]

Ubisoft's marketing department quoting the Codex, now that's something I thought I'd never see.

 

[Thane Solus]

in before they destroy their remakes just like they did with Silent Hunter series and Heroes of MM, still, its a good PR move shlock. Lets see how it plays...

 

[Roguey]

Over the years, many great RPG developers have found mainstream success by leaving their hardcore roots behind and producing watered down consolized action-RPGs instead.

???
I don't remember this ever happening.

 

[Direwolf]

Does this use uplay?

 

[Name]

So now RPGCodex is a cohort of Ubisoft, who popamolized Open-world Action Games, outsourced M&M series to various Soviet countries and invented always-online DRM? Don't you have a reputation to maintain?

 

[Metro]

Does this use uplay?

Yes. Ubisoft is slapping it on every single one of their titles from roughly last year or so going forward.

 

[Abelian]

So now RPGCodex is a cohort of Ubisoft, who popamolized Open-world Action Games, outsourced M&M series to various Soviet countries and invented always-online DRM? Don't you have a reputation to maintain?

It was actually developed by Limbic Entertainment and Ubisoft decided to revitalize the M&M franchise mostly due to the dedicated efforts of Julien Pirou, who created a mock-up of the game in the Heroes V engine. It was Julien's decision to make the game as a successor to World of Xeen (hence the grid and turn-based gameplay). I'd say that, if anything, M&M fans should buy MMX just to send a message to Ubisoft that niche games have a vocal audience and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Spoiler

But yeah, I'm just as annoyed as anyone at having to install Ubi's spyware digital right management software, Uplay.

 

[abnaxus]

Well, as of today, that bullshit has finally been exposed for what it is. The year is 2014 and we are playing a turn-based blobber RPG produced by one of the largest game publishers in the world. Julien Pirou has laid waste to the misconceptions of an entire industry, and for that he should be regarded as a hero of the RPG genre. Might & Magic X: Legacy is available now, on Steam or directly from Uplay, for the low price of $25.

Not that surprising, considering Ubisoft already publishes Heroes of Might & Magic turn-based strategy games.

 

[Abelian]

and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Like Obsidian, Ubisoft do not want to go out of business.

I am aware, that's why I wrote "not focus only on consolized AAA titles". I realize that games with mass-appeal are their bread and butter; I'm merely suggesting that they don't put all their eggs in one basket, so when a $50 million title has weak sales, the company goes under. If they diversify their catalog with some niche games, it might provide them with a small, but steady stream of revenue.

 

[jagged-jimmy]

and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Like Obsidian, Ubisoft do not want to go out of business.

I am aware, that's why I wrote "not focus only on consolized AAA titles". I realize that games with mass-appeal are their bread and butter; I'm merely suggesting that they don't put all their eggs in one basket, so when a $50 million title has weak sales, the company goes under. If they diversify their catalog with some niche games, it might provide them with a small, but steady stream of revenue.

The problem is resource management. 100 ppl making 3 niche games or 1 AAA game? Discuss? AAA game promises more RoI.

 

[A user named cat]

 

[Monty]

and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Like Obsidian, Ubisoft do not want to go out of business.

I am aware, that's why I wrote "not focus only on consolized AAA titles". I realize that games with mass-appeal are their bread and butter; I'm merely suggesting that they don't put all their eggs in one basket, so when a $50 million title has weak sales, the company goes under. If they diversify their catalog with some niche games, it might provide them with a small, but steady stream of revenue.

The problem is resource management. 100 ppl making 3 niche games or 1 AAA game? Discuss? AAA game promises more RoI.

It also promises more risk. That increased 'RoI' assumes a hit, a failed AAA game can sink the company. Diversification makes sense and it appears the likes of Ubisoft now agree.

 

[himmy]

I like the Doritos-coloured text.

 

[garren]

Just ditch the bloody Uplay Ubisoft, goddamn. No buy before that. Seriously, everyone's shitting on it.

 

[Grunker]

So now RPGCodex is a cohort of Ubisoft, who popamolized Open-world Action Games, outsourced M&M series to various Soviet countries and invented always-online DRM? Don't you have a reputation to maintain?

But Limbic are chill bros :O

 

[Diggfinger]

Is it going to be available on GOG?

Not in the foreseeable future.

I will get it once it gets released on GOG or at least when a Mac version comes out. Oh well, until then I still have Worlds of Xeen to finish

 

[jagged-jimmy]

and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Like Obsidian, Ubisoft do not want to go out of business.

I am aware, that's why I wrote "not focus only on consolized AAA titles". I realize that games with mass-appeal are their bread and butter; I'm merely suggesting that they don't put all their eggs in one basket, so when a $50 million title has weak sales, the company goes under. If they diversify their catalog with some niche games, it might provide them with a small, but steady stream of revenue.

The problem is resource management. 100 ppl making 3 niche games or 1 AAA game? Discuss? AAA game promises more RoI.

It also promises more risk. That increased 'RoI' assumes a hit, a failed AAA game can sink the company. Diversification makes sense and it appears the likes of Ubisoft now agree.

That might be true, but big players want to make big money, not just "survive". Thus the solution is not to diversify but to maintream/copy success. That can also be risky, but a decade of cinematic corridor shooters tells me, it's working okay-ish.

I blame some internal affairs / policy for MMX being released. Plus maybe testing the market after KS & Indie games success.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Like Obsidian, Ubisoft do not want to go out of business.

I am aware, that's why I wrote "not focus only on consolized AAA titles". I realize that games with mass-appeal are their bread and butter; I'm merely suggesting that they don't put all their eggs in one basket, so when a $50 million title has weak sales, the company goes under. If they diversify their catalog with some niche games, it might provide them with a small, but steady stream of revenue.

The problem is resource management. 100 ppl making 3 niche games or 1 AAA game? Discuss? AAA game promises more RoI.

It also promises more risk. That increased 'RoI' assumes a hit, a failed AAA game can sink the company. Diversification makes sense and it appears the likes of Ubisoft now agree.

That might be true, but big players want to make big money, not just "survive". Thus the solution is not to diversify but to maintream/copy success. That can also be risky, but a decade of cinematic corridor shooters tells me, it's working okay-ish.

I blame some internal affairs / policy for MMX being released. Plus maybe testing the market after KS & Indie games success.

It actually seems like a consistent strategy for Ubisoft nowadays. They created a 2D game development framework (UbiArt) with a stated focus on smaller teams heavy on artists. They've since used it to make two gorgeous and fun Rayman games, and are in the process of working on a 2D sidescrolling JRPG with a fairy tale aesthetic and some kind of adventure game set during WW I. They also developed Blood Dragon, and published Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. And then you have MMX.

Say what you will about the quality of those titles, but there's a noticable effort there to diversify and try new things. This definitely sounds like a more rational strategy than what Activision is doing, where they're basically dead in the water if CoD fails.

 

[mindx2]

and that they should not focus only on consolized AAA titles.

Like Obsidian, Ubisoft do not want to go out of business.

I am aware, that's why I wrote "not focus only on consolized AAA titles". I realize that games with mass-appeal are their bread and butter; I'm merely suggesting that they don't put all their eggs in one basket, so when a $50 million title has weak sales, the company goes under. If they diversify their catalog with some niche games, it might provide them with a small, but steady stream of revenue.

The problem is resource management. 100 ppl making 3 niche games or 1 AAA game? Discuss? AAA game promises more RoI.

It also promises more risk. That increased 'RoI' assumes a hit, a failed AAA game can sink the company. Diversification makes sense and it appears the likes of Ubisoft now agree.

That might be true, but big players want to make big money, not just "survive". Thus the solution is not to diversify but to maintream/copy success. That can also be risky, but a decade of cinematic corridor shooters tells me, it's working okay-ish.

I blame some internal affairs / policy for MMX being released. Plus maybe testing the market after KS & Indie games success.

It actually seems like a consistent strategy for Ubisoft nowadays. They created a 2D game development framework (UbiArt) with a stated focus on smaller teams heavy on artists. They've since used it to make two gorgeous and fun Rayman games, and are in the process of working on a 2D sidescrolling JRPG with a fairy tale aesthetic and some kind of adventure game set during WW I. They also developed Blood Dragon, and published Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. And then you have MMX.

Say what you will about the quality of those titles, but there's a noticable effort there to diversify and try new things. This definitely sounds like a more rational strategy than what Activision is doing, where they're basically dead in the water if CoD fails.

Never thought I'd say this but I'm starting to like what Ubisoft is producing. Blood Dragon was just ok but I really liked Call of Juarez and now MMX seems to be a true Codexian cRPG. Not only are these games half the price of the AAA crap there seems to be effort/ passion/ whatever you want to call it by the teams making them. They aren't just copy & paste acshun game #256 appealing to the Doritos and Mountain Dew dude-bro crowd. I hope they continue this trend of smaller (niche) titles as I'm getting more enjoyment out of them than any other recent Big Boy Publisher games. Now if they would only get rid of this UPlay junk....

 

[Abelian]

Here's a relevant excerpt from the RPG Codex Report: The Vision Behind Might & Magic X Legacy:

I ask Winter whether Might & Magic X Legacy is a risky game for Ubisoft or not. I don't need his reply to divine the truth, though. I just need to look around. The huge hall I'm standing in has booths for the vast majority of Ubisoft's products. In a nutshell, Ubisoft's main revenue generators are the Assassin's Creed, Just Dance and Far Cry franchises. Might & Magic X Legacy is a drop in the ocean for a publisher that is both powerful and expanding. It is not, by any stretch of the word, a 'risky' venture. Winter breaks my train of thought: “I gotta say though, and this is me informing you of my personal opinion... Ubisoft gets a lot of bad rep for a lot of reasons. In the end though, it is one of the only big publishers who are willing to let their people run rampant with their creativity sometimes. Some publishers don't even take the smallest of risks no matter what. What Ubisoft did here – I'm not entirely certain it could happen with other publishers their size.”

So while MMX might not represent a significant part of Ubi's budget, it is important for it to succeed: if it does not sell reasonably well, Ubi may very well limit future experimentation and focus on their cash cow franchises.

 

[Thane Solus]

all fun and games, but god i hate uplay, they sabotage their product on the first day of the release, fracking idiots. i hope somehow its gets on GOG, but knowing UBI, probably not soon...