Warhammer Online still on course

Following reports that WOW-baiting MMO Warhammer Online had disappeared from EA's release schedule, Eurogamer has learned that the game is still on course to be released in the second quarter of this year.

Developer EA Mythic announced a delay from the first to the second quarter of this year back in November. According to GOA, which is taking publishing duties off EA's hands in Europe, this position hasn't changed.

"Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is still planned for a Q2 2008 release," European product manager Rahim Attaba told us. "The beta is doing well, and the feedback we have from the testers is really good," he added.

A spring release would put Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (or WAR for short) in a head-to-head fantasy MMO clash with Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, due on May 20th.

Just between us, we wouldn't be surprised if WAR's release does eventually slip into the summer or even beyond. But for now, "Q2" remains the official line.

Excitable creative director Paul Barnett recently described Warhammer Online as Led Zeppelin to World of Warcraft's The Beatles.

"In our market, the MMO fantasy market, there is an enormously popular game. They're basically like the Beatles," he told GameSpot in a recent video interview. "They came along and revolutionised MMOs, and it'll never be the same again. We basically had to go, huh, you can't be the Beatles. So we're going to be Led Zeppelin. The cooler, rockier, heavier band. We're going to stick to something that we do really well. For us, that's realm versus realm play, or as I like to call it, beating the living snot out of other people."

We're finally going to get our hands on Warhammer Online in a few weeks time, so expect to read out impressions on Eurogamer's MMO channel, which launches soon.