The original stated reason for the name change:
Citer:
Why we feel "Afterwind" is not a very good name:
The meaning is so obscure that only those who already play the game know it (even then, probably only the hardcore 10% or so). This means if you encounter it browsing the internet, it tells you absolutely nothing about what kind of game this is. Besides, the 'nuke' thing is not so relevant anymore, with the new focus on custom maps and the blend of all places and ages.
The map editor has been broken for years. The community is dead. The only viable gametypes nowadays are CW Comp, RP, and a rare World 50k. I think now's a good time to reflect upon the map editor and realize that banking on it made for a very good custom experience, but ultimately killed the game. It did not kill the game by introducing RP or the cancer that comes from it, but rather by being the focal point of development for years; a black hole of development hell the admins simply cannot fix. I don't want to say "let's just scrap the editor altogether", rather I believe unlocking the Silverlight version (Or just making the editor client/app-only) is the route to follow. But let's be real here: This game was alive and well when the Default map was the mainstay of everyone's gameplay experience. Scenarios added a new layer to this. The editor itself allowed for an insane amount of creativity, which has been squandered by lazy and ill-equipped mapmakers and graphic artists for some time. How is it that the first few waves of maps were fantastically-made (despite using lifted resources and whatnot) it terms of quality and time put into development, yet as of late many players are content with releasing literal trash and waiting for praise?
My point is this: The Map editor isn't being fixed any time soon.
I believe the only viable route for this game's survival is rebranding it to its pre-2013 iteration and focussing on a competitive gameplay experience on heavily-playtested maps, not only the default one. This is fairly satirical, mind you, but my point still stands that the wonderful "rebranding (and distancing from a good IP name)", along with the botched HTML5 launch are what killed this game; Not RP cancer, not trolls, not even staff incompetence. It was egotism and a lack of drive to get shit done when it needed to be, and I (even if I'm a complete and utter nostalgiafag) see the entire AtWar brand as a comedic representation of this.