Gods & Heroes on 'indefinite hold'

Perpetual Entertainment's ambitious MMOG no longer set for release next year, despite beta testing.

Due for release in the first quarter of 2008, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising looked all set to go--the game had been in closed beta testing, and been previewed in the gaming press. However, developer Perpetual Entertainment has made the shock announcement that it is suspending work on the title, which was announced in March 2005 and originally scheduled for release at the end of that year.

A notice on the game's official Web site from president Chris McKibbin confirms that development of the title is now on "indefinite hold." The reasons given were that the team felt that "the development team established some very lofty and ambitious goals when the initial work was started on the game. While we are truly proud of and pleased with what we have created in Gods & Heroes, we also realize that achieving the level of quality and polish that we are committed to will take a significant investment."

Perpetual Entertainment is also currently working on Star Trek Online, and states a decision has been made to restructure and focus on this title, abandoning Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising for the foreseeable future.

Back in December last year, Perpetual reported layoffs, although the company maintained at the time that these were part of the natural process of a big-budget project. It is unknown whether the shelving of Gods & Heroes will bring with it more downsizing.

Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising is a PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in ancient Rome, with gamers playing a hero tasked with saving the city by controlling mythical monsters and recruiting warriors.

46 Comments

  • danopix

    Posted Feb 17, 2008 3:16 pm PT

    Wow, just noticed this. That's messed up. Looked like it could have been great.

  • gregd76

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 9:57 pm PT

    i think that it's very sad to hear that Goods & Heroes, hits shelves, they should release this game any way, like le_hermoso said. In that period of time they they would see if it is woth to put more money in the game ot not, Same thing like othere corps do it, START WITH SMALL STEPS - i'll bet that there is a LOT of people waiting for that kind of game - well am one of them

    Good luck wiyh everything

  • squirrelking06

    Posted Dec 13, 2007 1:17 am PT

    gay i was looking forward to this one

  • el_hermoso

    Posted Nov 10, 2007 3:27 pm PT

    If they are losing $$$, put the game out so they can actually start getting $$$ back.

  • Nawras

    Posted Oct 17, 2007 12:48 am PT

    Let Eidos or EA purchase the company so they can invest in it... isn't this what both E's have been doing for the past few years?

  • Goeegoanna

    Posted Oct 14, 2007 5:19 am PT

    Personally, I loved this game, it had and still has a lot of promise. I feel the creators should be commended on creating something solid and believable. The use of myth and history instead of fantasy is refreshing and I certainly can't see how people can claim it a cheap copy of WoW, which itself was a stolen idea.
    It was a pleasure to play this game, I enjoyed it immensely during my time in the beta. I still have great regret that they have shut down the processes. Characters, world and environments were all well designed and detailed to be believable and historically accurate.. It's great to play a game where you are not a cartoon character in a kiddy funtime playground.
    I understand these concepts are not for everyone and that's great. It was created for adults, to be enjoyable however you play but especially for questers and the casual gamers. There were a bounty of quests in multiple areas, for every level. Enough, and more to level up without the usual grind. Perfect for a quester like me.
    I do hope they continue with the work further down the track. The MMO world will be better for it.

  • Gwarpup

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:14 pm PT

    Well with forseeable definite competition with Age of Conan and Warhammer comming out around that time, and Tabula Rasa sooner still, and WOW still being a great game that keeps improving what they started years ago making it a fully fleshed out gameworld. They didnt really have any chance unless they really had something special and unique to grab people. Star Trek at least has its fanbase of trekies, but that will fail too if its released ultimately hollow with cardboard characters, locations, and combat. Which IMO thats all that Lord of the Rings Online is. New MMOs have to be so much more complete now when released than they have been in the past. Earlier MMOs had a free pass much in this area cause of the newness factor. Now they have to be fully fleshed out before they ever realease beta to the public.

  • KhanhAgE

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:11 pm PT

    It's always sad to hear people loose money, especially lots of it. Cause I like money.

    Star Trek Online. Hmmm. Will they be loosing out on that development too?

  • LightofHeroes

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:50 am PT

    Game is garbage so this fits its case.

  • ShotGunBunny

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:01 am PT

    Heh, wasn't too impressed by the game anyways. I guess this is just another one of the hundreds of cheap MMO's nobody will (or should) ever care about.

    Let's hope this is yet another step further through the thick MMOG craze.

  • Nelien

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 3:01 am PT

    Definitely the best news I've heard about this game ever. I too was in the beta and was utterly surprised of how unfinished the game was, it was like playing a badly optimized engine test. I thought the setting could have worked out now with the 300 movie and Rome series being so successful but honestly not before at least 2 years more of development.

  • anlau

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 1:52 am PT

    Interesting.

    Imperator was axed (which was a sci-fi game if Roman empire survived all the way to space age), in flavour of WAR development back in 2005.

    Now G&H was axed in flavour of STO.

    Moral of the story:

    1) Roman setting is a curse;
    2) Sci-fi or hi-fantasy, it doesn't matter, Devs prefer working on great IP;
    3) Axe the project, before it hurts too much. Let by-gone be by-gone.

  • RockySquirrel

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 12:29 am PT

    Another one bites the dust...

    Wishing for something doesn't make it come true.

  • Nimrodooks

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:50 pm PT

    I was in the beta too, and the first thing I said to myself was "Boy this game plays and feels exactly like a very sloppy WoW clone with a Roman theme slapped on". There was absolutely nothing innovative about the game, it didn't grab you by the balls from the get go, it was just another grind & quest fest like EQ and WoW. If devs wanna break into this market, they have to innovate and shift the current paradigm of MMO's, you just can't clone EQ and WoW and expect to compete, because ultimately gamers aren't willing to leave their 3 year old toons for another WoW clone.

  • Expo_Smacko

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 5:52 pm PT

    Yeah I found this out when I tryed to get into the beta..
    Well that is gone now.
    Whatever..

  • pugkiller

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 4:42 pm PT

    So basically the game was "perpetually" put off?
    Jeez, in a few more year this game is going to rival Prey, Starcrft 2, and Duke Nukem, in terms of being delayed.

  • Nepherate

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 3:16 pm PT

    Like I've said many times, here I come Warhammer Online : )

  • Dezuria

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 2:26 pm PT

    SOE was originally helping them publish and fund this I believe, but dropped them. Now it seems they can't fund development anymore.

  • spelledarn

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 2:24 pm PT

    Let's face it, the MMORPG market needs something new and fresh. Levelgrinds, raids, respawning monsters, it's all well and good, but it's been done (very well) by a number of big games. If you want to break into the online market, you need something original, and G&H wasn't it. :-/

  • arc_salvo

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 1:18 pm PT

    What bsan89's said about Rome Rising is what I've begun to see happening with just about every new MMORPG that's being made lately. It seems like developers and publishers are in such a hurry to cash in on profits from monthly fees that they'll throw together any number of old cliches and obvious timesinks together sloppily into a mockery of a "game" in hopes that they'll somehow fool people into paying more money for the same sort of game they've been playing since the days of Everquest, except for a few small new tweaks and gimmicks to the old formula that don't really add anything really new or fun.

    I don't know if Perpetual makes shooters normally or whatnot, but I just want them to make a game that's inherently fun to play, not one that convinces you to play longer to make more money or get new gear. If I wanted to spend hours working at a "more fun than usual job" (which is what I honestly believe most MMORPG's are) just to get money for cool items... I'll just do it in real life.

  • tclvis

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 1:12 pm PT

    I hope the Trek game turns out better than the beta of GaH... I don't think my little heart can take another crap Trek game.

  • MasterChief725

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 12:52 pm PT

    yeah, i agree, i want shooters, not MMOs that waste away my life

  • moncealyo

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 12:43 pm PT

    Good move perpetual now stop wasting time and money with MMO crap and make a good shooter.

  • thunder350

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 12:36 pm PT

    Atleast "Perpetual Entertainment" gets to focus on just one game now, to improve on that.

  • bsan89

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 12:33 pm PT

    I'm not shock by this at all. I feel very sorry for all the people in the
    forums I used to hang out with. And all the fans toward this game.

    Yet Beta went pretty bad. I know beta is...well...."BETA" yet it still outline many concept of the game. Since the game is unplug here's about the 1st hour of what to expect when you play.

    -Graphic was Okay: Though everyone look pretty small then trailer lead you to believe. You picture yourselves as a tall buff armor gladiator. While in the game your pretty damn small and feel like your living with a bunch of other Dwarf.

    -Gameplay was boring: Your ship crash and you wake up on an island.
    You talk to an NPC with some pretty lame mission. Kill 5 of this, blah blah. -Story: Not quite sure. Your ship of romans crash and you wash up on shore with a bunch of other survivor. Your about the only one who wasn't hurt in this act of "GOD?". So you learn about how to play and kill some monster on your way....blah.

    -The beta ask you what your opinon every quest which is great. Because if you tried the game for atlest 1hr you probably left the game
    quite a while ago. Close: Nothing really drives you in the game. The animation look pretty cool if you get to a high level or totally get own by a high level monster which I did. But that's about it. If this game had continue with much more time. I would try it again to see how they improve. But anyway, STAR TRACK ONLINE FTW!

  • Jeckal

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 12:21 pm PT

    Don't get to attached to the thought of STO... The company is shaky at best with reliablity and STO could just end up to be another great concept and pretty game gone wrong by poor management. Its a Shame! I personally am shifting away from the company completely and well devote my attach and $ to AOC.

  • Dylanius

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 11:59 am PT

    Im jazzed about STO... Oh my god.

  • Omenvoir

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 11:23 am PT

    I was in the closed beta for a mere day before it was shut down. I was incredibly excited about this game... until I played the beta. It was extremely buggy and very unpolished. And based on the beta feedback, there was very little positive that testers were taking away from the experience... The minion system was fairly cool, but honestly Guild Wars did it better; the classes were stripped down versions of anything else in any other MMO - particularily WoW, and the much touted "exciting" combat was far more dull than most games I've played in the last 5 years. Mash the same spell/attack over and over... there was rarely a need to switch things up. And the playable areas were very hemmed in, and didn't feel like you were in a world at all. Less open than Guild Wars even... maybe more akin to Dungeon Siege. That's not a good sign. There *was* promise here, but even at it's best, I still can't help but think that it was going to just be a watered-down WoW with a watered-down Guild Wars minion system. Too bad, I was digging the Roman theme, and it was relatively pretty... I was willing to stick with the beta as the changes came...

  • DiscGuru101

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 11:14 am PT

    I would prefer Star Trek Online anyway. But Gods & Heroes was looking very cool. -Oh well, I guess I just saved around $78 on the 4th quarter...

  • turaaggeli

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 10:21 am PT

    ¤#&)=&=%&#¤&/#¤&#¤/ !!!

  • goddessakasha

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 10:00 am PT

    Wow... the beta testing went THAT badly, huh?

  • ChancreScolex

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 9:11 am PT

    Did we need another mediocre MMO anyway? I just feel sorry for the Devs who spent all their time on it, but hell they got the Star Trek license so it's not like they're going out of business like some companies who try to jump in with MMOs.

  • resident_rozza

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 8:38 am PT

    Its never nice to see a company put lots of time and money into developing something then.. BANG its been put on "indefinate hold" but i personally am getting bored with the MMO genre, way to saturated ever since WOW and Everquest, but thats my problem i suppose

  • Gruug

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:51 am PT

    While I thought G&H was a very interesting looking game, it didn't have the "must have" appeal that the STO title had for me. I felt all along that Perpetual was making a mistake putting so much into a totally unknown concept for one of their first MMO's. STO would have had a much larger mass market appeal factor and therefore would (and should) go over much better then G&H. Who knows, once STO goes live maybe Perpetual will revive G&H.

  • Warfust

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:42 am PT

    Ouch, another one headed to the GU comics zapper....

  • Targzissian

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:34 am PT

    I was at Best Buy yesterday and they have dozens of copies of the Gods & Heroes pre-order they're selling for like $9.99. So what about all the people who bought the pre-order?

    How can a game get this close to release and then have them pull the plug on it at the last minute? Maybe they should put Tabula Rasa and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures on "indefinite hold" as well. (I'm kidding, please don't...)

  • ChiefFreeman

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:18 am PT

    it must have been a borefest to the beta testers to cancel this far into development.

  • wytefang

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:16 am PT

    I feel bad for the developers who poured tons of time into it but honestly, I'm not sad to see one less MMO out there. It's just a crappy genre from top to bottom. By crappy I mean that it sucks too much time and money away from gamers playing and trying out new games and games that are deeper and more involved than a giant chat room with avatars standing around to carry object A to point B or to kill X number of rats.

  • Trekeith

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 6:07 am PT

    This is too bad. The game had a lot of potential and flavor to it. The idea of working within real-world mythology mixed with real-world history was a good and refreshingly new one. The truth is, though, I don't think Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising had a huge market to appeal to. I doubt there would have been enough myth and history buffs wanting to get in on this to justify the production costs and upkeep necessary to maintain this game once it was released. Placing their focus on Star Trek MMO would give them a much larger market and fanbase to justify the heavy costs of creating and maintaining an MMO.

  • sergio_afonso

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 5:47 am PT

    WOW! I never saw that coming! Its sad. It felt that it was going to be a interesting game! I liked very much the minions idea! Maybe they can use it in the Star Trek online project.

  • londonrider

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 3:42 am PT

    The concept and the theme were really great. But I think they did the right decision (I was in the closed beta)
    And I very much hope they will not fail with Star Trek- I would love to play quality space MMO

  • seamusb

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 3:42 am PT

    Perhaps they thought the games fantasy setting would put it in close competition with WOW, and wouldn't fare well because of it. While they thought Star Treks sci-fi setting had a better chance of standing out and making a bigger profit.

  • galerian86

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 3:28 am PT

    Maybe they don't have the financial ability to support this game once it comes out. Seem like a good game, what a waste.

  • doolies

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 3:23 am PT

    Or not so good borg. How are we to trust a company that axes a "near finished" beta in favor for a game that isn't even near alpha?

  • borgmaster

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 3:14 am PT

    first comment? w00t
    but, yeah, sucks for anyone expecting Rome Rising, good for us Star Trek nerds.

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