Relic Entertainment, known for classic game series like Company of Heroes and the Dawn of War franchise, has announced it is to become an independent studio.

The studio has chosen to pursue its independence in collaboration with Emona Capital, a move it feels is necessary to maintain its financial survival.

Relic in survival mode

Relic has been a name in gaming for over thirty years and has been woven into some of the biggest names in gaming publishing. Initially, the studio was snapped up by THQ, who was impressed with its maiden intellectual property (IP) set in the Homeworld universe.

THQ quickly tasked Relic with the stewardship of their newly acquired Warhammer IP in 2004. Relic’s work on the Dawn of War series would become role-playing-strategy gaming gold.

A ten-year period of success followed with the development of the Dawn of War franchise and the creation of the Essence engine for Company of Heroes until SEGA acquired the studio.

SEGA would be next to offload Relic to what we reported at the time, was an unknown investor. This has now been revealed as Emona Capital.

Sadly, Relic took the first brutal action by axing 40-plus staff, a difficult step in the company’s possible financial survival.

The company posted to LinkedIn, “We are working closely with those affected, providing severance packages, extended benefits, and outplacement support options. To those we are saying goodbye to, we are deeply sorry that it has come to this. We thank you for everything you have done for our studio and our projects, and we wish you all the best.”

Relic hopes independence secures future

In light of the success seen by Larian Studios, who recently walked away from Hasbro, a trend is emerging for gaming developers looking to collaborate with publishers.

They aim to keep their independence rather than be tied to a publisher that may face financial troubles and seek to offload studios. This has been a narrative across the gaming industry for the past two years.

“Letting people go was not an easy decision, and was made solely with the goal of providing Relic the best possible chance to survive in an increasingly volatile industry,” said Relic.

Image: Relic.