It’s all about the money. The Curse of Abundance – is the Warhammer Franchise in Trouble?
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At this point, we should stop and think what is the reason behind introducing such a policy. It is difficult to identify a clear cause of this particular licensing formula; it seems quite likely, however, that money is at the core of the problem. It is often said that Games Workshop has been in trouble recently and must look for sources of income wherever it can, but a review of the most recent financial reports generally does not support this thesis. Indeed, between 2013 and 2014 the company's turnover dropped by several million pounds (from 134.6 to 123.5 million), but the management has a pretty good justification for this: the reason is supposedly the deep restructuring of the entire company conducted in the last dozen of months, in the face of which generating any net profit is no small achievement.
Equally striking is the confidence emanating from Tom Kirby, president of Games Workshop (replaced in early 2015 after more than 20 years in this position by Kevin Rountree), who stated that the raison d'etre of the company is making high-quality miniatures and it will remain so for all time, and that the biggest challenge is permanently employing talented managers to supervise the whole operation. Therefore, I wouldn't see the change in GW's policy as a manifestation of a desperate struggle for survival, but rather a consequence of a realization that mobile gaming and free-to-play markets are sources of quick profits – why not use them then? Especially when one conducts their business in a niche hobby sector which is never completely stable, and additional funds can come in handy on a rainy day.
It is worth mentioning that at the same time Games Workshop granted a license to another computer adaptation of a famous board game from its portfolio – the abovementioned Talisman. In 2012 and 2014, Nomad Games faithfully reproduced the latest edition of the game developed by Fantasy Flight Games and known as Talisman: Revised 4th Edition in most countries. The last electronic version called Talisman: Digital Edition is constantly updated with subsequent expansions, coinciding with the add-ons of the tabletop original.
A second wave on the horizon
However, the games (of rather itsy-bitsy proportions) described above are only a part of the productions set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000. Luckily, the upcoming titles can be compared to heavy cavalry following the trail blazed by a light, unarmed vehicle. Simply put, right now the minor mobile games amount to just a fraction of what is to be released on the market in the months to come; the upcoming wave will comprise bigger titles, which have a chance to conquer the hearts of gamers as well as bestseller lists. Let's take a look at some of the most interesting productions.
Mordheim: City of the Damned
For several weeks we’ve been able to test Mordheim: City of the Damned in Steam Early Access. It's a turn-based tactical strategy based on the miniature tabletop production under the same title, created by debuting (but composed of veterans) Rogue Factor studio. Even though the game is still in alpha version, it already provides a wealth of options available during clashes, and is said to offer many different fractions (from humans to Skaven), as well as a variety of personalized options for characters (equipment, skills, etc.) in its final form. If we add the faithfully reproduced dark atmosphere of the City of the Damned and quite nice graphics as well as a high level of difficulty (e.g. guaranteed by permanent character death), we’re in for quite a tasty – if a little bit niche – morsel. One of our staff members played the Steam version in January and in spite of scarce options available at the time, he already claimed that it was worth the wait. If all goes well, version 1.0 should be released for PC in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade is just as interesting. This MMORPG by Behaviour Interactive can perhaps fill the void left by Age of Reckoning (as long as people can accept the change of Elves for Eldar). However, the use of a well-known universe is not the only distinguishing feature of this production – so is its emphasis on massive battles between the representatives of the playable factions (space marines, orcs, Eldar and Chaos space marines), occurring in various parts of the planet that serves as one big world game. The clashes may prove to be even more juicy as they will be implemented in a manner reminiscent of an action game – the skill of the players, and not the characters' statistics, will be the most important thing (although the development of the latter will not be omitted). For those who are not big on PvP skirmishes, there will also be PvE challenges. We are going to find out whether this production is really something to look forward to in early autumn 2015. This is when the first users who have purchased Founder Packs will be able to log in to the virtual world. Eternal Crusade will be available for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Blood Bowl II
The game we are going to play as soon as by the end of spring this year, is Blood Bowl II – a direct continuation of the aforementioned production by Cyanide studio, published in 2009. Although a turn-based simulation of American football, made Warhammer-style, is still quite a niche topic, we should keep this title in mind, as the developers have made a lot of effort to attract new players. This applies in particular to the use of a fresh engine, which changed the visual layer beyond recognition, making the sports struggles in the Old World look quite spectacular. In addition, the authors prepared a solid story campaign and expanded management options for your team as well as network functions (e.g. Internet transfer market of players). Fans of the series will enjoy the introduction of a new "race" – knights of Brittany. Blood Bowl II will be available for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
