Hasbro has announced that the Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 development team is currently working on an AAA game based on one of the tabletop giant's "tentpole" IPs.
The news comes courtesy of an earnings call to mark Hasbro revealing its fourth-quarter financials earlier today (thanks, Gematsu). In that call, CEO Chris Cocks said the new game, which will be developed by Space Marine 2 studio Saber, will combine "high-octane single-player action and amazing multiplayer".
Cocks went on to say that the game will utilize Saber's Swarm technology, presumably referring to the Swarm Engine on which Space Marine 2 runs, alongside games like SnowRunner and World War Z.
It's worth noting that the Swarm tech to which Cocks refers doesn't necessarily mean we'll be seeing the same kind of massive hordes of enemies present in both Space Marine 2 and World War Z; it's the name for the engine, after all, rather than just that one feature.
As for which IP Cocks is referring to, Hasbro is naturally playing those cards very close to its chest, and I use those words advisedly.
IPs the company controls include Magic: The Gathering, which is getting a Legendary Pictures-produced movie, potentially making it a solid candidate for a new AAA video game.
Other potential IPs might include Transformers, although the cancellation of Splash Damage's Transformers: Reactivate might put a dent in that theory, as well as Dungeons & Dragons, Power Rangers, and, uh, Peppa Pig. Yeah, it's probably that last one.
If Hasbro and Saber are working on a single-player Dungeons & Dragons game, then it'll be in good company, slotting alongside the live service multiplayer game currently in the works at Payday 3 studio Starbreeze.
Of course, if it is Dungeons & Dragons-related, Saber and Hasbro will have to make sure they don't repeat the mistakes of the genuinely awful Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, which is being delisted next week.
It is, however, probably safe to assume that we're not about to see a major AAA game based on Monopoly or Cluedo, as sad as I am about that. It's also unlikely we'll hear anything more about this one for quite a while, so stay tuned.
