The phrase "instant success after years of trying" has been applied to Mythic Entertainment and its flagship online world, Dark Age of Camelot. When the title was announced in February of 2000, many gamers, even those interested in the massively multiplayer category, were not acquainted with the company, this despite the fact its principals had years of experience in the sector and a veritable wealth of knowledge about it. In addition, it was pretty easy for anyone who looked at the project to see that it had substantial potential. While it wasn't built upon a prominent intellectual property, it used a setting drawn from a legend virtually everyone had heard of. As well, the play had a distinctive, well-established foundation, a proven three-way realm-based conflict system in which the elder game was designed to pit large groups against one another.