Dragon Empires: Where Are They Now? Cancelled MMORPG Retrospective

This page originally hosted an exclusive interview with Peter Tyson, Community Liaison Manager for Codemasters’ ambitious MMORPG project Dragon Empires. The interview, conducted in 2002, captured the excitement and promise surrounding what many hoped would revolutionize player-driven MMO gameplay.

Dragon Empires never launched. On September 3, 2004, Codemasters announced the cancellation of the project due to insurmountable technical issues with the server code. What remains is a fascinating glimpse into what could have been and the lessons learned from one of the early 2000s’ most anticipated MMO cancellations.

Read the original 2002 interview on the Internet Archive

What Was Dragon Empires

Announced on September 20, 2001, Dragon Empires was Codemasters’ attempt to create a next-generation fantasy MMORPG that would “break the mold” of existing online games. Developed at Codemasters’ California studio (the remnants of Sierra On-Line), the game promised to deliver something the MMORPG market desperately needed: a truly dynamic, player-driven world where actions had consequences.

The game’s core vision was ambitious. Players would form clans to capture and control 50 cities spread across five distinct empires, each ruled by a fearsome dragon. Unlike the cooperative-focused MMORPGs that dominated the market (EverQuest, Ultima Online), Dragon Empires emphasized competitive clan warfare, territorial control, and a player-driven economy that constantly shifted based on who controlled which cities.

Set in the world of Fortitude, Dragon Empires featured three playable races (Human, Shadow, and Dragonblood) with 15 classes to choose from. The development team promised over 500 quests at launch, 580 square miles of virtual territory, and real-time action combat that would feel revolutionary compared to the slow, tab-target systems of the era.

The game received an enthusiastic response from gamers, with 120,000 players signing up to beta-test it before its launch. Press previews were equally positive, particularly praising the game’s stunning graphics engine, which featured weather effects, dynamic lighting, and lush environments that impressed critics at E3 2003.

Initial projections suggested a release in October 2002. That date would slip repeatedly to October 2003, then to spring 2004, and then to fall 2004, before the project’s ultimate cancellation.

Interview Highlights: The Vision That Never Was

Our 2002 interview with Peter Tyson, Dragon Empires’ Community Liaison Manager, reveals the game’s ambitious design philosophy and the features that attracted such a passionate following.

Dynamic, Player-Driven Worlds

When asked about Dragon Empires’ dynamic game world, Tyson articulated a philosophy that was ahead of its time:

“What makes a truly dynamic world is a player-directed one. To us, this means that your actions will affect how the world behaves. What you do can literally change the game for other people.”

This wasn’t just marketing speak. Dragon Empires planned to implement systems where:

Clan-owned cities generated tax revenue from player transactions in city marketplaces
Political voting systems allowed allied clans to vote on whether cities would be open for capture
Economic specialization meant cities would become more efficient at producing specific goods over time, causing resource flows and player populations to shift dynamically
Mercenary systems let small clans hire themselves out to fight other clans’ battles

Tyson suggested players should “brush up on their Machiavelli readings,” anticipating complex political maneuvering between power blocs of clans. The vision was essentially EVE Online’s territory warfare combined with Shadowbane’s city control, years before either had proven the concept viable.

Addressing MMORPG Storytelling

The interview addressed a common complaint about MMORPGs: weak narratives. Tyson’s approach was intriguing. Rather than front-loading story content, Dragon Empires planned to keep game history “never 100% complete and available to players.” Players would need to “dig around on the site and in the game to find all of the historical gems and links, piecing the story together themselves.”

The team had even recruited fantasy author Piers Anthony (selected by community poll in March 2002) to write elements of the game’s lore. Once live, GMs and writers would introduce ongoing storylines through new quests and GM-run events, treating the game as a living narrative rather than a static one.

The Clan System as Core Gameplay

Tyson emphasized that while clan membership wasn’t mandatory, it was where the real fun lived. The clan system went beyond simple guild mechanics:

In-game email to clan members
Polls and possibly elections for leadership
Extensive clan information on the website
The ability to own and manage entire cities
Options to operate as mercenaries for hire

For players uninterested in city administration, the mercenary route offered a way to participate in large-scale warfare without the management overhead, anticipating modern “casual hardcore” design.

Technical Ambitions

The interview revealed significant technical goals. The game engine featured lightning, rainbows, snow, blizzards, rain, thunder, and rolling cloud fronts. Environments ranged from mountainous regions and secluded valleys to plains, dense forests, rivers, lakes, and vast oceans. Tyson described it as feeling “very natural and believable.”

The minimum system requirements were projected to be a Pentium III 500MHz with a GeForce 2, with a 1GHz machine and GeForce 3 recommended. For 2002, these were reasonable but not trivial specifications, suggesting the game pushed technical boundaries.

Sound design was also a priority, with plans for environmental audio effects so “things will sound a lot different in a cavern than they do in a forest,” demonstrating the attention to detail throughout the project.

The Balance Challenge

When asked about character balance, Tyson acknowledged the critical importance: “Throughout beta, we will be spending as much time looking at balance issues as we will at bug issues.” The plan was simple: “frequent and thorough testing is the only way to deal with the problem.”

This commitment to balance testing would prove tragically ironic, as the team never got the chance to complete that crucial beta phase.

What Went Wrong: The Technical Collapse

On September 3, 2004, Codemasters announced it had ceased development on Dragon Empires, citing technical issues. Producer Gary Dunn explained that their server code was incapable of supporting the number of clients expected for a massively multiplayer game.

The full explanation came in a statement from Dunn posted on forums:

“We were experiencing unexpected obstacles with the server code, in particular our ability to serve clients at a scale which would have permitted us to launch the game as an MMO. The resolution of these issues was fundamental to the success of the project and ultimate release of the game.”

After a six-week review of the game’s viability, Codemasters determined that the cost to fix the difficulties would be too high and decided to cancel the title.

But the technical problems were just part of the story. According to former Codemasters marketer Bruce Everiss, writing on his blog in 2008, Dragon Empires was plagued by deeper systemic issues:

The project started as a plan to upgrade The Realm from 2D to 3D, but the scope crept wildly. The team grew larger and larger without proper management or marketing analysis, operating without strict budgetary control. Within Codemasters, the project “became a standing joke” as it absorbed “successive millions of pounds” without clear progress toward launch.

Everiss noted that the community manager had left (this would have been Peter Tyson), and the team continued to expand. When a new CFO conducted a proper financial analysis, he “couldn’t believe it” and reported to the board, who realized they had “sleepwalked into disaster.” Trying to do something on the cheap had ultimately cost a fortune.

The official line emphasized technical problems, but industry observers pointed to other factors:

Market timing: By 2004, World of Warcraft and EverQuest II loomed on the horizon. Even a working Dragon Empires would have faced brutal competition from games with much larger budgets and more experienced teams.
Scope creep: What started as a modest 2D game upgrade became an ambitious 3D MMORPG with cutting-edge graphics and complex systems.
Management failures: Poor oversight, understaffing on the programming side, and a lack of clear direction plagued the project throughout development.
Engine problems: Lead designer Steve Nichols left the project in October 2001, shortly after the announcement, suggesting early issues with direction and leadership.

The community’s reaction was heartbroken. A petition was launched attempting to revive the project, but it gained no traction with Codemasters. The game’s official website closed sometime after June 17, 2005, marking the final end of Dragon Empires.

Where the Team Went: Codemasters’ MMO Exit

Following the Dragon Empires’ cancellation, Codemasters’ approach to MMORPGs underwent a dramatic shift.

Immediate Aftermath

The development team was scattered. Many programmers and artists were transferred to Codemasters’ internal development studios to work on other titles. Rather than continue attempting to develop MMORPGs internally, Codemasters pivoted to publishing existing titles from other developers.

The company acquired licenses for RF Online and Archlord, marketing them in the West. Neither game met commercial expectations, and Codemasters eventually let the licenses lapse. The company then focused on publishing American MMORPGs in Europe, notably partnering with Turbine Inc. to market Dungeons & Dragons Online and The Lord of the Rings Online.

Peter Tyson’s Journey

Peter Tyson, the Community Liaison Manager who gave our 2002 interview, had an interesting post-Codemasters trajectory. According to his author biography (written in the style of a Dwarf Fortress character description):

Born in 1975 in New Zealand, Tyson worked as Community Manager at Codemasters from Spring 2002. In Autumn 2005, he left the gaming industry to become an Administrator in the New Zealand Government. He married Laura in 2008.

In 2009, Tyson began writing popular tutorials for the complex strategy game Dwarf Fortress on his blog afteractionreporter.com. In 2012, he published “Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress,” a comprehensive guide to one of gaming’s most notoriously difficult titles.

His career arc from hyping an ambitious but doomed MMORPG to teaching players how to navigate Dwarf Fortress’s legendary complexity has a certain poetic symmetry.

Codemasters’ Gradual Exit from MMOs

After the MMO publishing experiments, Codemasters gradually withdrew from the MMORPG sector, refocusing on racing game development through emblematic franchises like F1, DiRT, GRID, and Project Cars.

The studio found its niche and stuck to it. Codemasters was ultimately acquired by Electronic Arts in February 2021, cementing its position as EA’s racing game specialist.

The Dragon Empires disaster taught Codemasters a valuable lesson: stick to what you know. The company’s attempt to compete in the MMORPG space without the necessary expertise or resources nearly bankrupted their development efforts. Their return to racing games proved far more sustainable and profitable.

The Legacy: Lessons from a Failed Dream

Dragon Empires never launched, yet its ambitions and subsequent failure left a lasting legacy for MMORPG development.

What Dragon Empires Got Right (In Theory)

The design philosophy Peter Tyson articulated in 2002 proved prescient in many ways:

Player-driven economies and politics: Games like EVE Online (2003) and later Albion Online successfully implemented many of the systems proposed by Dragon Empires. The concept of clans voting on city vulnerability, specialized city production, and player-controlled territory has become a standard feature in sandbox MMOs.

Consequences for player actions: The emphasis on a truly dynamic world where “what you do can literally change the game for other people” anticipated the live service and dynamic world trends that would dominate modern multiplayer games.

Real-time action combat: Dragon Empires’ faster-paced combat system predated the action combat revolution that games like Age of Conan, TERA, and Guild Wars 2 would later perfect.

Accessible PvP options: The mercenary system, allowing small groups to participate in large-scale warfare without city ownership responsibilities, anticipated modern instanced PvP and battleground systems.

What Went Wrong

The project’s failure illuminated several critical lessons:

Technical foundation matters: You cannot build ambitious multiplayer experiences on unstable server architecture. The core technology must work before you add features.

Scope management is critical: Starting with a “simple” 2D to 3D upgrade and evolving into a groundbreaking MMORPG demonstrates textbook scope creep. Clear vision and firm boundaries are essential.

Competition timing: Launching an MMORPG against World of Warcraft and EverQuest II required either a massive budget or a truly differentiated product. Dragon Empires had neither.

Marketing promises vs. development reality: The marketing philosophy of building interest 12 months before launch meant announcing Dragon Empires in September 2001 when the game was nowhere near ready, creating years of disappointed expectations.

Studio expertise matters: Codemasters has been (and continues to be) excellent at creating racing games. Attempting to compete in the MMORPG space without experienced MMO developers was hubris.

The Community That Remains

Despite never launching, Dragon Empires is still fondly remembered by the 120,000 players who signed up for beta testing. Forum posts from 2004 show genuine mourning for the game’s death. Players who had invested emotionally in the game’s vision felt betrayed by the cancellation.

Some migrated to similar games, such as Dark and Light or Shadowbane, seeking the player-driven warfare that Dragon Empires had promised. Others simply gave up on the PvP-focused MMORPG dream, waiting for titles like EVE Online to mature or for games like Darkfall to eventually launch.

The petition to revive the Dragon Empires garnered significant signatures but ultimately proved futile. Once Codemasters made the financial analysis, there was no turning back.

Reflecting on What Could Have Been

Reading Peter Tyson’s 2002 interview with the knowledge of what came after is bittersweet. His enthusiasm is genuine, the vision compelling, and the systems innovative. Dragon Empires could have been great.

But “could have been” is the saddest phrase in game development.

The gap between vision and execution, between marketing promises and technical reality, proved insurmountable. The ambition that drew 120,000 players to sign up for the beta became the project’s undoing as scope and budget spiraled out of control.

Dragon Empires stands as a cautionary tale about the dangers of:

Announcing too early
Underestimating technical challenges
Scope creep without management oversight
Competing in markets without relevant expertise
Prioritizing marketing over development readiness

Yet it also represents something important: the willingness to dream big and attempt innovation. The systems proposed by Dragon Empires in 2001-2002 were genuinely ahead of their time. Many have since been successfully implemented in other games, validating the original vision even if the execution failed.

For the 120,000 who signed up to test a game that never launched, Dragon Empires remains a “what if” scenario, a glimpse of an alternate timeline where Codemasters conquered the MMORPG market instead of focusing on racing games.

We’ll never know if Dragon Empires would have truly revolutionized MMORPGs. But we know it tried, and in its failure, it taught the industry valuable lessons about ambition, execution, and knowing your limits.

Resources & Further Reading

Original Interview: Read the complete 2002 Peter Tyson interview on the Internet Archive
Dragon Empires on Wikipedia: Complete history and details
Unseen64 Archive: Dragon Empires development history and cancelled game details
The Game Archaeologist: Massively OP’s detailed retrospective
TalonBrave.info: The Rise and Fall of Dragon Empires
Bruce On Games: Inside look at the project’s management failures

Were you one of the 120,000 who signed up for Dragon Empires beta? What MMOs did you play instead when it was cancelled? Share your memories in the comments below.

Last Updated: November 2024

Dragon Empires: A Cancelled MMORPG Retrospective

What Was Dragon Empires