14 DAY TRIAL // The two Dawn of War video games that Relic has created using the Warhammer 40,000 setting offered some of the most interesting mechanics in the real-time strategy genre when they were launched, but fans of the series have been frustrated by the lack of an announcement about a new title.
Quinn Duffy, a game director at the studio, tells Eurogamer that there are future plans associated with the series, but they cannot be made public at the moment.
He states, “I can't say. We have a brilliant relationship with Games Workshop. We'd love to do something. It's a no comment on that.”
The Dawn of War intellectual property survived the dissolution of publisher THQ and Relic has the ability to use it in any way they like, especially when they also collaborate with Games Workshop, the company that created the Warhammer 40,000 game world.
Duffy adds, “I love the Dawn of War stuff. It's a strong part of our history. Relic has some strong IPs. Dawn of War is almost an IP in of itself. It gave people the feeling they had from the tabletop. It was a great translation of the world. People at Relic play the game, they love it, and they're very sensitive about doing it right.”
Dawn of War II focused the strategy experience more on the characters and on their special abilities, with tactics more important than resource gathering or fast reflexes.
Many gamers embraced the approach and the game was successful enough to support three full expansions, which introduced new races and heroes to play with.
At the moment, Relic is working under the guidance of publisher SEGA and according to the game director, the studio is more stable than it has ever been and has the freedom to explore new ideas and create some exciting features for their coming titles.
Apparently, about 70 developers are at the moment working on the already launched Company of Heroes 2, which means that as many as 50 might be involved with the new secret Dawn of War title.
Recently, Games Workshop has offered the Warhammer 40,000 license to a number of smaller companies and the resulting video games have been a little mixed.
A new Dawn of War would be able to show what an experienced team can do with the strategy genre and the futuristic world filled with Space Marines and aliens, and would create extra revenue for the license holder.