The next step in Wizards of the Coast game development, as the company assembles an all-star squad of former Monolith Productions developers to direct a big project you wouldn’t want to miss.
Monolith Productions: Closing (Warner Bros.) was among the hardest reads in the gaming industry this year But now there is finally some good news as Wizards of the Coast has reportedly recruited him, along with 14 of his colleagues, to work on a new idea.
The new effort will be overseen by Michael de Plater, previously known for his work on leadership roles on Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) and Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017). He and his team most recently landed at Cliffhanger Games working on the Black Panther project for Electronic Arts, which was canceled by the publisher earlier this year.
Speaking to GamesIndustry. When asked about this biz, Wizards of the Coast president John Hight told us:
“We are very happy to have him with us. We were able to actually get him, his 14 key people that he’s worked with there — and a lot of those at Monolith — to incubate a new game for us.
Hight said that the Wizards of the Coast new game is “still in an early conceptual phase.” The team will explore several concepts before arriving at a final approach. It’s similar to what the Giant Skull studio did before they began work on their Dungeons & Dragons action/adventure game, started by Stig Asmussen.
Fans may not be hearing about that Wizards of the Coast new game for a while, but the company has made no secret about its new focus on video games.
Wizards of the Coast have been slowly announcing projects over the past year:
- Invoke Studios is working on a Dungeons & Dragons game
- Starbreeze: CGI RPG co-op D&D.
- At Gameloft: A survival / life simulation RPG.
- A digital tabletop / DEMEO x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked
- Giant Skull: The D&D Action/Adventure Game
- Many jackets in development anyway.Scifi RPG in development at Archetype EntertainmentEXODUS
- At Atomic Arcade, a home-home GI Joe game
These new game efforts from Wizards of the Coast fit within the company long-term target of shipping one-to-two video games per year beginning in the latter half of 2025, or perhaps early 2026. The company has a healthy pipeline of external projects; one internal project was canceled at Skeleton Key earlier this year.
The Wizards of the Coast new game already had fans keen on perusing ambitious, character driven experiences excited, with the addition of Michael de Plater and his Monolith veterans on board only adding fuel to the fire.
FAQ
The new game from Wizards of the Coast, already has plenty of legendary “The Lord of the Rings” talent attached, as it is still in the concept stage, headed by Michael de Plater and his old Monolith team.
Michael de Plater is a veteran developer formerly of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War director
It’s still early in development, without a release date given.
Future projects include several Dungeons & Dragons titles, Exodus from Archetype Entertainment, and a GI Joe game.
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