14 DAY TRIAL // Tim Heaton, the studio director of The Creative Assembly, is also the new interim general manager of developer Relic until the company can find a suitable solution for the position in the long term.
The executive tells CVG that “We are currently looking for a full-time general manager at Relic, so my role in this phase is to keep the studio focused on delivering COH2, to find the necessary staff to take Relic into the future and to ease the transition.”
Video game publisher SEGA bought Relic from the now defunct THQ when that company was forced to sell off its assets during bankruptcy proceedings.
SEGA says that it wants to use the studio in order to enhance its lineup of PC-based strategy-oriented titles.
Heaton says that Relic and The Creative Assembly are working to make sure that the transition process is as smooth as possible and does not affect the development process of Company of Heroes 2.
The developer adds, “The studio has had a tough time in the past few years with THQ struggling to support them, but it’s a testament to the way Relic works that it has had great staff retention, and that it has focused on making Company of Heroes 2 a great game.”
The strategy title was initially supposed to arrive in early spring but, at the moment, launch is expected for late June, with the development team using a close beta for those who pre-purchased it in order to eliminate any problems from multiplayer.
It’s unclear what kind of title Relic will focus on once Company of Heroes 2 is shipped.
The Creative Assembly is currently working on Total War: Rome 2, a strategy title that will allow gamers to choose from a number of powers of antiquity and try to take over the known world.