The Warhammer Online Community Team has announced on the WAR Herald that Bruce Maclean is the game's new producer. According to the team, former producer Jeff Skalski "is still here in the studio working hard on Warhammer."

With that being said, Maclean just published his first producer's letter to look back on the game's accomplishments in the past year. He also gives us a taste of what we can expect to see in early 2010: "We’ll have exciting new Live Events, new weapons and cloaks earned by spilling the blood of your enemies in RvR, a new Scenario structure, economy and loot drop improvements, adjustments to the King and Warlord encounters to convert them to RvR-only battles, UI customization enhancements, Tier 4 RvR campaign improvements, daily quests and so much more."

You can read Maclean's full letter after the jump.

Hail!

Everyone here at Mythic would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season, filled with the things that make this time of year extra special - and by special we mean the taste of beer, the sounds of battle, and the sight of your enemies weeping on the forums!

That’s right, Keg End is upon us once again, and whether you are a grizzled veteran, a raw recruit, or someone who has been following the action from the sidelines, there has never been a better time to play WAR.  Before we head off to battle seeking our own personal keg-toting servant to help us ring in the New Year, take a seat and share some brew with this grizzled old veteran for a moment as we reflect on the year now behind us.

It truly is the Age of Reckoning and the past year has been filled with amazing Live Events, awesome new dungeons, scenarios, and new zones, with grim new foes and fantastic rewards to earn.  We have survived the Night of Murder and seen the arrival of the bitterest of rivals, the Slayer and the Choppa.  We have seen the portents and events surrounding the Rise of the Tomb Kings and the expedition to the Land of the Dead. We have witnessed the Demon Moon Rising, and partaken in the ancient and challenging Wild Hunt.
 
In the past year, the Realm versus Realm war has also seen significant action and change: Zone Domination, the Keep Upgrade Ordnance systems, RvR Quartermasters, two-ramp Keeps, City Invasion improvements, a Keep Rating System, the WAR Report, and the recent Realm Underdog System.  Countless other changes too numerous to cover have also elevated the RvR experience from good to incredible, not the least of which are significant performance and stability gains.

A toast for stability! 

While lowering the bar to enable computers to run higher graphics settings, we also improved the game’s look with HDR and bloom.  Suffice it to say, the RvR battles of this winter season are more engaging, more visceral, and more fun than anything else out there. Raise a toast to the veterans here, they know what I mean!

Since we consider WAR to be the best-in-class RvR experience and we wanted to share it with everyone. Thus we’ve launched a Macintosh Version, brought WAR to our Russian friends, and unleashed the mighty WAAAGH! in Taiwan.  We also launched our Free Endless Trial, complete with a streaming client, so fresh meat, err, new players can play forever (for free!) and bolster the ranks of our armies. 

Here’s a toast to the fresh meat!

Looking back at past accomplishments is all well and good, but we’re not resting on our bloodied laurels here in the land of WAR! Next year is going to be an exciting one, and I am looking forward to sharing more of our plans during the frigid days and long winter nights of January.  We’ll have exciting new Live Events, new weapons and cloaks earned by spilling the blood of your enemies in RvR, a new Scenario structure, economy and loot drop improvements, adjustments to the King and Warlord encounters to convert them to RvR-only battles, UI customization enhancements, Tier 4 RvR campaign improvements, daily quests and so much more -  and that’s just our near term plans for 2010.

Farther into the year we’ll see…oh but you’ve heard me ramble enough! It’s time for that drink, battle, and crying enemies!

Happy Holidays and we’ll see you on the battlefield!  

Bruce Maclean, WAR Live Producer