In a post to the Myth Village forums on Friday with the subject "Some ugly but honest truths," Andrew Meggs, formerly of Myth III developer MumboJumbo, wrote that the Myth III development team had been laid off two weeks earlier:

The entire Myth III team was terminated on November 2, 2001. The basic reason was that there was no next project lined up and funded, nor was there expected to be in the near future, it's expensive to keep a team of salaried people around doing nothing, and MumboJumbo was not a huge business with infinitely deep pockets. There's a tangled web between the MumboJumbo Irvine project team, its parent company United Developers, and the game's publisher Take 2. I wouldn't blame anyone specifically for the collapse - call it everybody's fault if you're the angry sort or nobody's fault if you're charitable.

The speed with which the axe fell is somewhat surprising. MumboJumbo had recently shipped Myth III for the PC, but its release was plagued with bugs and a patch had been promised; Meggs suggested that the termination of the Myth III team has delayed the patch. Shipment of the Mac version is also awaiting final fixes.

Meggs assured readers that the Mac version would eventually be released, and since November 2, MacSoft have also assured us that Myth III for the Mac will be completed and that the bug fixes from the PC patch will make it to the Mac.

Further allaying the fears of Mac gamers, "Burger" Bill Heineman on Saturday posted to the Myth Village forums:

Don't be concerned about the Mac version. Chris Jacobson and I (now with Contraband Entertainment) are hard at work fixing the last issues. Expect the game to be released soon.

IMG News - Quick Mac Myth III Status

MacSoft: Myth III

IMG Preview - Myth III: The Wolf Age

GameSpot - MumboJumbo closes Irvine office

Myth Village - Re: a little concerned about Mac version

Myth Village - Some ugly but honest truths

MacSoft (add to watch list)

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