Game Archaeologist Explores Wing Commander Online

Massively has published an article that recaps various attempts to create a massively multiplayer Wing Commander game. As the piece largely pulls from the CIC's archives, there's not really any new information, but it's good to see the material collected and republished for more to see. That's why we put it out there!

The twisted history of online WC games dates back all the way to the '90s, and there were multiple attempts to make it happen. Since some of the work was just conceptual, there are some fuzzy lines between certain projects. Privateer Online and Wing Commander Online both were on the drawing board around the time that Secret Ops was made, but they didn't make it very far. Unfortunately, these edged out Privateer 3, however. An entire second attempt at POL began in earnest in 2000-2001, but it was ultimately canceled in favor of Earth and Beyond. And the rest is history.

It's almost breathtaking to think about what might have been. With Ultima Online's popularity giving Origin's namebrand a boost, the team had permission to build two MMOs out of its space sim franchise. Work began on Wing Commander Online and Privateer Online (Privateer being a freeform spinoff of Wing Commander but set in the same universe). Players who caught wind of these projects couldn't stop salivating at the thought of piloting their own fighter or freighter through the galaxy and making a name for themselves. Even the lack of Chris Roberts (who left the studio in 1996) couldn't dampen spirits.

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It turns out that EA's eyes were bigger than its stomach as far as MMOs were concerned. It's as if the publisher made a bold decision to stride into online space, then had a severe moment of doubt and buyer's remorse. Quick as a cat, EA yanked the plug on several projects in 2000, including Ultima Worlds Online, Ultima X Odyssey, and Privateer Online. Privateer Online was deemed too similar to another title that EA was making, so Earth and Beyond) lived (for a time) while its brother-in-arms was jettisoned through the corporate airlock.