Relic Entertainment
Website | relic.com |
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Relic Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as THQ Canada Inc.) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as Homeworld, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. Acquired by THQ in 2004, the company was sold to Sega on January 22, 2013 as part of THQ's bankruptcy and operated under its European division.[1][2][3] On March 28, 2024, Sega sold the company to an unnamed external investor.[4]
History
Founding and Homeworld (1997-2004)
Relic was founded in May 1997 by Alex Garden, Luke Moloney, Erin Daly, Aaron Kambeitz, Rob Cunningham, Gary Shaw, and Shane Alfreds.
Their next title was Impossible Creatures, released by Microsoft on January 7, 2003. It focused on a fictional environment during the 1930s, allowing players to design units from different anatomical parts of animals. The game was successful, though it did not receive the same attention as Homeworld.
Homeworld 2 was released on September 16, 2003. Although it boasted improved graphics and features and changed some elements of gameplay from the original, reviews cited some issues and did not score it as highly as its predecessor.
Acquisition by THQ (2004-2013)
On April 27, 2004, publisher THQ announced it was acquiring Relic for close to US$10 million in an all-cash transaction, completed around early May, 2004.[6]
Relic released
Relic's first foray into the console world of gaming, The Outfit, was released on March 13, 2006 for the Xbox 360. Not very successful, many reviewers saw it as a love-it-or-hate-it game. It was also criticized for its weak single-player modes.
There has been speculation supported through various sources that Relic has re-acquired the rights to the Homeworld franchise from Vivendi. Finally, following the discovery of a document on the United States Patent and Trademark Office's electronic filing system by a fan, THQ confirmed that Relic indeed owns the trademark again, making a continuation of the series under THQ's lead possible. However, no comment on future installments was given.[9]
Relic released the sequel to Dawn of War,
In early September 2011, Relic released its second cross platform console title, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. It was released for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 6, 2011, in North America and September 9, 2011, in Europe. It features the Ultramarines chapter. Its gameplay focuses on a hybrid shooting and melee combat model.
In May 2012, Relic Entertainment announced it was developing the highly anticipated sequel Company of Heroes 2 for the PC platform, scheduled for release in early 2013. In this sequel the game moves the battle away from the Western Front of World War II and refocuses on the Eastern Front.[10]
Acquisition by Sega (2013-2024)
In December 2012, during THQ bankruptcy filings, it was revealed that Relic Entertainment "is currently developing Company of Heroes 2 for a calendar year 2013 release and a new game with the working title Atlas for a release in calendar year 2014."[11] On January 23, 2013, it was revealed that THQ had sold Relic Entertainment to Sega for US$26.6 million as part of an auction of the company's properties.[12] Sega outbid ZeniMax Media by 300K.[13] The Homeworld franchise was sold to Gearbox Software at a separate auction in April 2013.[14]
In November 2015, Relic Entertainment and Sega relinquished the rights of Impossible Creatures to
On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announced that Relic will develop Age of Empires IV.[17]
On July 12, 2021, Relic Entertainment announced Company of Heroes 3 is coming to PC in late 2022. It was revealed the game is in pre-alpha stage and that they have "been co-developing the game with the community members for years now."[18] On May 23 2023, three months to the day after the release of Company of Heroes 3, it was reported that Sega would be laying off more than 120 employees at Relic, blaming external factors negatively impacting the wider industry.[19]
Independent company (2024–present)
On March 28, 2024, Relic Entertainment announced that an external investor had assisted them in going independent.[20][21] One week later, the studio laid off over 40 employees.[22][23]
Technology
The Essence Engine featured many new graphical effects at the time it was introduced, including
In
Games
Awards
- Best Developer, IGN.com Best of 2006 Awards[25]
References
- ^ "Notice of SEGA's Acquisition of Relic Entertainment and some IPs owned by THQ Inc" (PDF). Sega Sammy Holdings. 2013-01-25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
- ^ Lien, Tracy (2013-01-24). "Sega purchased THQ's Relic Entertainment to 'reinforce PC game development capabilities'". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
- Future Publishing. December 2018. p. 70.
- ^ "Relic announces independence".
- ^ a b Keefer, John (March 31, 2006). "GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 6 of 19". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
- ^ Feldman, Curt (2004-08-11). "THQ discloses Relic purchase price". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ a b "Notice of SEGA's Acquisition of Relic Entertainment and Some IPs Owned by THQ Inc". Sega. 2013-01-24. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
- ^ Bowden, Mike (2008-11-03). "THQ announces Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor". VG247. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ Purchese, Rob (2007-11-06). "THQ does own Homeworld". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (2012-05-07). "Company of Heroes 2 confirmed for 'early 2013'". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
- ^ Conditt, Jessica (2012-12-19). "Unannounced THQ games from Vigil, Turtle Rock, more in bankruptcy filing". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (2013-01-23). "THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes Devs Acquired". IGN. Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ Sarken, Samit (January 23, 2013). "Sega offers $26.6M for Relic Entertainment in THQ auction, ZeniMax bids $26.3M". Pplygon. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ Orland, Kyle (2013-04-22). "Going once, going twice! Gearbox picks up Homeworld in THQ auction". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
- ^ Hillier, Brenna (2015-11-23). "The improbable journey of Impossible Creatures". VG247. Archived from the original on 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
- ^ Skrebels, Joe (2016-05-03). "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ Vincent, James (2017-08-22). "Microsoft announces Age of Empires IV". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
- ^ Dowdeswell, Justin (13 July 2021). "Announcing Company of Heroes 3".
- ^ Dring, Christopher (2023-05-23). "Sega announces 121 redundancies at Relic Entertainment". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ "Relic announces independence".
- ^ Dring, Christopher (2024-03-28). "Sega sells Relic and will cut 240 jobs across UK studios". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (2024-04-04). "Relic Entertainment lays off employees to give itself 'the best possible chance to survive in an increasingly volatile industry'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ McEvoy, Sophie (2024-04-05). "Relic hit with layoffs following sale from Sega". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (2012-07-24). "Company of Heroes 2's dynamic weather system will freeze your ass off". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
- ^ "IGN.com The Best of 2006". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-12.