In the end, it came down to David versus Goliath. Games Workshop chose David- sort of.
When THQ went out belly-up, GW had to decide who would get the new license to produce Warhammer video games Instead of teaming up with the omnipresent Sega, Games Workshop has reached a new licensing agreement with game developer Slitherine. Confirmed via their website.
“This deal represents yet another testament to our continuous aim to reach new audiences, without losing sight of who we are and what we do best”, said JD McNeil, Chairman of the Slitherine Group. “It’s all about creating strategy games that are targeted to a particular audience and addressing a very specific need in the market. The Warhammer 40,000 setting is a perfect fit for the style of strategy games that we make and will be very popular with fantasy and science fiction fans alike. Joining forces with Games Workshop will allow us to bring an wonderfully deep and appropriate IP to the Turn Based Strategy genre”.
Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing at Games Workshop said: “Slitherine are clearly established and successful masters of their genre of games, and there are many fans of their work here at GW. It’s a pleasure to work with such like minded individuals who share our passion for strategy games of all types”.
So what does the British developer Slitherine offer? Certainly no household names- their “top sellers” include the likes of Panzer Corps, Battle Academy, and Field of Glory. What they do specialize in though is turned based strategy games. This may turn out to be a big risk on Game Workshop’s side, but it may payout with better game-play by people who actually understand turn based games.
It should be noted, that there are reports that this contract is nonexclusive. It would appear other companies (possibly Sega) are still in the mix.
