Relic Entertainment, the studio behind games like Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes, has announced its plans for the future, and while they're rather vague on the whole, there are some interesting tidbits to pore over.
In a press release, Relic, which became independent after being sold off by Sega in March last year (sustaining a number of layoffs into the bargain), says it's identified three key pillars for its strategy when it comes to the studio's future.
Pillar one involves "deepening commitment to existing titles", which means providing updates and continuing support for Relic's existing games. At the moment, the company is actively supporting strategy titles Company of Heroes 3 and Age of Empires 4.
Relic's second major new pillar is titled "independent development, creative experiences", and it involves the developer branching out into "smaller-scope, in-house games", as well as "continuing to develop the larger, complex strategy titles" for which it's known.
Finally - and perhaps most interestingly - Relic says it wants to "reimagin[e] classics", finding ways to "bring [its] classic titles to modern audiences". This could entail "re-releases, remasters, or brand-new franchise experiences" that capture the originals' "spirit" while appealing to new players as well.
Relic CEO Justin Dowdeswell says the studio's new direction marks "a significant milestone", and that he's "confident" Relic will be able to deliver "innovative, high-quality games that resonate with players around the world".
Unfortunately, Relic doesn't commit to announcing exactly what any of the aforementioned games might be, so we don't know just how far away from that tantalizing Dawn of War remaster we might be. Let's hope it's just around the corner, eh?
If you were worried that Relic's independence from Sega meant it wouldn't be able to create its large-scale RTS games anymore, then it looks like you won't need to worry about that. We'll just be getting some extra experiments on the side.
What this means for Relic in a broader sense remains to be seen, though. Stay tuned for more on this and all other things Relic-related.
