Studio philosophy and MMO production outlook

The recording presents Scars of Honor as a project shaped by player-first MMO design values, transparent iteration, and caution about the business pressures that often distort long-term online game development.

Passion and leadership

A recurring theme is that a game studio needs leadership that understands the genre from the player's side. Technical skill is considered important, but not sufficient on its own. The more important requirement is familiarity with what makes MMORPGs work, what has disappointed players in the past, and what emotional experience the genre is supposed to create.

This is framed as a difference between studios led by people who care about games and studios led primarily by executives tasked with maximizing extraction from an existing audience.

Transparency and iteration

The project is described as being developed through active internal playtesting and ongoing revision. Examples include reviewing class spells, reworking inventory and equipment systems, and adjusting visual intensity across abilities.

The tone of these disclosures suggests a workflow in which placeholder or first-pass implementations are expected to change when testing reveals a better direction. Public tests are treated as important checkpoints for feedback rather than as final demonstrations.

Public test timing

The next test is described as the biggest one so far, with announcement expected around the middle of December. This is presented as a major upcoming milestone for the project.

MMO production economics

The recording also discusses the economics of MMORPG development. Large budgets are acknowledged as common in high-cost regions, but the argument is that sustainable MMO development can be done more efficiently in lower-cost regions such as Eastern Europe or parts of Asia. This is presented as one reason future major MMORPGs may increasingly emerge from those regions.

The distinction is not only about saving money, but about survival. Lower operating costs are described as giving studios more room to build a good game without immediately resorting to exploitative monetization.

View of acquisitions and investor pressure

Acquisitions are portrayed as a major turning point for game studios. Once a studio is bought, it is described as effectively becoming a different company, with different incentives and no guarantee that the games will improve. Investor pressure is treated as a double-edged force: necessary for funding, but potentially destructive if it pushes a game to release too early or to prioritize monetization over quality.

This perspective is used to explain why many older studios are seen as having changed after acquisition, and why a new studio must first prove itself by delivering a strong game rather than by extracting revenue early.

Source

• Recording: Playing LOTRO and Fighting Monsters in Middle Earth
• YouTube: Watch on YouTube
• Published: Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM UTC