WAR: Age of Reckoning Belt Buckle

As I'd mentioned yesterday,there was one more oddity in my collection that I wanted to showcase before I move onto some other collections (I've still got more WAR:Age of Reckoning items, but I will post those at a later date).

100% pewter casting for the buckle. No signs of it ever having been used.

This is one that I've been trying to find out the origins of, since I managed to pick this up from someone that had at one point worked for Mythic/EA. According to the story I was told about this, it was part of a group of objects that had been found a year or so ago, that had been left behind in a box near an empty desk when one of the people had left the company over the downsizing of the servers for the online game.

I personally had my doubts on the veracity of the story to a huge degree, but I have heard of rapid turnovers and sometimes bad blood causing abrupt dismissals/leavings in some video game studios.

It came to me in a simple white unmarked box with a bit of padding inside.

Steel belt D-ring and belt hook are the only non pewter parts on the buckle.

I know that because of the history of some other items that I have in my collections, that this could have been a gift to the development team early on, as this has a stamp on the back that states GW (Games Workshop) 2007, and if for some reason this is some wild fan creation buckle, it's extremely well made.

Now, the game itself was not released until September 18, 2008. By what we see here above and on the left below, this was made in 2007. That leads me to believe, including some weeks of trying to reach out to former Mythic employees, and asking around on a few forums, that this was not an item that was for anything but internal awarding. 

(Left) Close up of the copyright details and possibly where it was manufactured. (Right) Scale comparison of the Epic RavenHost Stein, the WAR Launch Party Stein, and the WAR Belt Buckle.

Hopefully, someone will step forward and fill in the holes in the history of this nifty little item. Warhammer Online is one of those games that in years to come, people will look back upon with a mix of fondness and frustration, and will be one not soon forgotten. For me, it's already achieving that level of legend that perhaps ranks with Sega's Shenmue.

But then again, I have been following the history of this game since it's first inception way back when the developers at Climax Studios and SEGA had the IP. History has a way of repeating itself as SEGA once again has access to publish Warhammer Fantasy games.

But that will be something I will delve into at a later date...

Thanks for reading! Take care of the loves in your life, support your local artists, promote the well being of history, never forget the Library of Alexandria, and I'll see you next time!

-Mario, the Rogue Hobbyist  

Stats	Rating/Information
Item	WAR: Age of Reckoning Belt Buckle
Made by	Games Workshop
Rarity	Rare/Unique? (I have only ever seen this one.)
Classification	Modern
Condition	Mint Condition - Never used.
Procured	Kansas City
Worth	No idea.
Investment	$50
Further Research	-n/a-
Trivia & Fun Facts	"And now, hopefully, because this may be the last thing I ever write about Warhammer, I’ll be allowed to acknowledge the existence of Chaos Dwarves. Or maybe not. - Carrie Gouskos, Director of Studio Operations at Mythic"