Watch the first trailer for Rob McElhenney's new MMO comedy, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet

At E3 2019, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney announced Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet—not a videogame, but a faux documentary about the company behind the most popular MMO in the world. McElhenney plays Ian Grimm, the head of the studio, who—surprise!—is kind of a jerk. Naturally, that leads to tensions at the studio, as employees are forced to deal with the crushing weight of his ego while they work to build out the game.

A new trailer released today reveals a little more about what viewers have to look forward to in the show. Grimm is clearly an uber-auteur of the worst sort: Not just the head of the studio, but also apparently a central character in the game, and a committed believer in the power of his presence. Expanding beyond that foundational premise, there's also a joke about watermelons not exploding like real skulls in a motion capture session, a sharp zinger about women's studies, and a visual gag that has Grimm yelling from a barbarian's crotch.

It's maybe not the most sophisticated promo video I've ever seen, but the team behind it is promising. Executive producers include Charlie Day, McElhenney's partner in crime on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plus Always Sunny executive producers David Hornsby and Megan Ganz, and Jason Altman, Danielle Kreinik and Gérard Guillemot from Ubisoft. (This would explain why the show was announced during Ubisoft's E3 press event last year.) The ensemble cast features F. Murray Abraham (he's the "inquiry withdrawn" guy, and he won an Oscar in 1984 for Amadeus), Danny Pudi, Imani Hakim, Charlotte, Nicadao, David Hornsby, Ashly Burch, and Jessie Ennis.

Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet will debut on February 7 on Apple TV.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.