Despite being bought by Paradox
People got cautiously excitedwhen Paradox boughtthe popular tabletopWorld of DarknessIP and its creator White Wolf last month. The publisher is known mainly for grand strategy games (developed in-house) as well as their smaller titles by external developers likeThe Showdown EffectorMagicka.
World of Darknesshasn’t really had much of a presence in videogames bar the late Troika’s fantasticVampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlinesand CCP’s cancelled MMO, so trying to figure out what Paradox have planned for White Wolf has been tricky.
Thanks toan interview for Rock, Paper, Shotgunwith White Wolf CEO Tobias Sjögren, we now know that maybe White Wolf and Paradox’s relationship is a bit more fluid that we may have expected it to have been. When asked about whether White Wolf could license their IP to other developers and publishers, he said:
Like most publishers out there Paradox is specialised and does certain types of games better than anyone else.
But if there is a publisher that is a better fit than Paradox for a product that White Wolf would like to license, we are definitely set to do the deal with that publisher. White Wolf is here to do what is best forExaltedandWorld of Darknessand the fans who love these properties.
It’s interesting that Paradox would buy an already established studio and their popular IPs, and then allow them to license the games on to third parties instead of go through their now established channels.
However, it’s also a good, low-risk move: Paradox might not want to take the risk on more ambitious titles likeBloodlineswas when it came out, and so they can still make a tidy sum just by licensing the IP out to others. Plus it allows them to build up some more awareness for the IP in a way that doesn’t require the company to throw their own development studio at it all the time.
This statement doesn’t necessarily mean anything is currently ready to be announced though, so don’t go getting your hopes up. When asked about whether anything like CCP’s canned MMO would happen again, Sjögren said:
It is too early in the process and we currently don’t comment on any product strategies.
Bummer.
Still, it’s nice to know that White Wolf have relative autonomy following the acquisition. As awesome as a Paradox developedCrusader Kings-styleVampire: The Masqueradewould be, there are still lots of people eager for some sort of a continuation toBloodlines.
White Wolf Interview: “There Have Not Been Enough Video Games Set In The World Of Darkness”[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
