Jackalyptic Games and NetEase have announced a new game with the Warhammer IP. There is not much information yet, but a clear direction can be derived from the developer’s key data.
What kind of game will it be? So far, there is no name for the game. NetEase and Jackalyptic Games have only stated in a press release that “a game based on a Warhammer IP” is in development in partnership with Games Workshop.
NetEase itself recently parted ways with Blizzard, which is why World of Warcraft is no longer playable in China. This indicates that the publisher wants to fill the gap with a new MMO.
However, Games Workshop is known for selling the license for Warhammer games quite liberally to studios. In this case, however, some industry veterans with a lot of experience in the MMO field are behind the game.
Who is behind the game? Jackalyptic Games is led by Jack Emmert, who previously worked at Cryptic Studios. Emmert was involved in some of the most famous MMORPGs of the last 20 years:
- City of Heroes, a superhero MMO that fans desperately want to revive
- DC Universe Online
- Star Trek Online, which MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider played solo for 1,000 hours
- Neverwinter
Neither NetEase nor Jackalyptic are discussing what exactly the new Warhammer game will be. However, they emphasize that the studio is committed to “immersive online multiplayer gameplay for PC and console.” So probably no mobile MMORPG.
Warhammer is known for dark worlds and completely exaggerated, satirical representations of familiar tropes. Games Workshop even produces series set in the universe:
Science Fiction or Fantasy – What is coming?
The Warhammer universe consists of several parts, each with its own story. Accordingly, it is not entirely clear what kind of setting you can expect. Possible would be:
- Warhammer 40,000, a dark sci-fi world. The latest release here is a co-op shooter called Darktide.
- Warhammer Fantasy, essentially a bloodier version of Warcraft. This has just achieved great success on Steam with Total War: Warhammer 3.
- Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, a branch of Fantasy with some crazy Siegfried-hero epics. In 2021, an MMORPG by Nexon was also announced.
While the Fantasy IP would traditionally be more suitable for an MMORPG, a Sci-Fi MMO based on Emmert’s past would be more likely. However, according to reports, the game is still in early development.
Personally, this is great news for me. Warhammer is one of the best worlds ever for me, and whether it’s fantasy or 40k, I definitely want to check out a new Warhammer MMO:
In a perfect world, the biggest MMORPG today would be World of Warhammer
