Space Marine 2 is a game set in the popular Warhammer 40,000 universe by Games Workshop. The CCO of the studio behind the game says that development has been tough and discusses strict approvals from the licensors.
Who is speaking? In an interview with IGN, the CCO of Saber Interactive, Tim Willits, talks about working with the licensors of Games Workshop. They have a very robust approval system for everything partners create with a license, for example, Warhammer 40,000.
Specifically, he explains that they received very detailed feedback to ensure everything in the game would be perfect. However, he also says: Forty-five years ago, when the guy who created the little Space Marine sat at the table, he probably couldn’t imagine animating the [Space Marine] in a video game 45 years later. And I can tell you, that was really hard.
Everything was scrutinized – Even the wrong armor size
What were the challenges? During the conversation, Willits mentions that much of the feedback from the developers was challenging – but Games Workshop guided the developers rather than demanding changes.
For instance, when they were working on the Tyranids and their attacks, one of the Games Workshop people said: Oh, this Tyranid doesn’t attack like that.
Or: You can’t let this Chaos Marine do that.
In the end, the developers adjusted some things, but also pushed back at times.
A specific example, according to Willits, is a certain piece of armor for the Space Marines: The ankle armor we had, the ankle armor was the wrong size, and they told us that the ankle armor was wrong.
Why is Games Workshop so involved? Tim Willits also has a few words on this:
If you have a universe as vast as Games Workshop’s with Warhammer, you must protect it as if it were your own baby because it is. And there are millions of people who love this franchise, and if we mess up even just one emblem or get a chapter wrong, it’s just embarrassing.
Meeting the expectations of the licensor and the Warhammer 40,000 community was very important to the developers. After four years of development and the effort to implement everything according to the source material, Willits claims to be very proud of his team and the game. They respected and honored the source material: And if you have the respect of the core fans, everything else becomes easier.
The lore of Warhammer 40,000 is indeed quite extensive. In the video above, the actor portraying Space Marine Titus from the game explains, for example, that Space Marines have additional organs. You can read more about why there are no female Space Marines here: In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, you only see big, strong guys – Are there even women among the Space Marines?
