In a surprise move that may cause folks around here who viciously hate free to play to straight up overdose on schadenfreude, EA announced this afternoon that they’re closing Mythic Entertainment. (Or, I guess, “EA Mythic" as they were known recently.) Most recently known for the incredibly poorly received Dungeon Keeper (Free), Mythic used to make totally awesome games like Dark Age of Camelot which was an incredibly groundbreaking MMORPG when it was first released in late 2001. The followup, Imperator Online never really got off the ground, but following that they released another MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. It was online from late 2008 to late 2013.

Kotaku received the following statement from EA on the studio closing:

We are closing the EA Mythic location in Fairfax, Virginia, as we concentrate mobile development in our other studio locations. We are working with all impacted employees to provide assistance in finding new opportunities, either within EA or with other companies via an upcoming job fair.

I hate seeing folks in the gaming industry lose their jobs, and it especially sucks when it’s an entire studio closing its doors. We didn’t like Dungeon Keeper, but, man, I loved Dark Age of Camelot and still have great friends I met playing that game. Hopefully the talent behind DAoC and other Mythic titles all find cooler opportunities than working for EA.