BioWare Mythic hates Real ID

On the eve of the release of Blizzard's StarCraft II, Warhammer Online developer BioWare Mythic has told its fans that it will "never" force gamers to use their real names when posting in forums.

Last week Blizzard about-turned on its decision to require and use people's real names for the StarCraft II and World of Warcraft forums.

Real ID, as it's called, "was a deliberate and open design decision, driven 100 per cent by the desire to create an even better online experience for our players by giving them powerful tools to compete with and stay connected to their real-life friends and family," Blizzard said.

Real ID stores people's real first names and surnames so that other people can befriend them across multiple games and recognise their real-life friends.

"No. Never. Never. No," was Warhammer Online producer Carrie Gouskos' matter-of-fact response when asked by Eurogamer whether BioWare Mythic would ever implement Real ID.

"I would fight that tooth and nail. I've had some very personal, really bad experiences in online communities with that. Personally, I’m against it," she said.

BioWare Mythic general manager Eugene Evans added that he was surprised Blizzard went for Real ID in the first place.

"We wouldn't do it. I'm surprised they did it, and for a group that is so close to their community, it was amazing that they misread it that poorly.

"I'm pleased to see them reacting to the community. We should all learn to listen to our communities.

"Their community made it very clear what the right answer is."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be released simultaneously on 27th July on PC and Mac.

We're off to London to have a chat with Blizzard now. GAME's Oxford Street flagship store will open at midnight tonight to sell it. Expect chaos.