Stardock Entertainment, a publisher known for its strategy games, recently launched Elemental: Reforged in Early Access. In an interview, CEO Brad Wardell explains why the company made this decision and shares his current assessment of the market.
Stardock Entertainment, headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, recently released Elemental: Reforged in Early Access, a remastered version of the fantasy strategy game series Elemental. This classic turn-based 4X sandbox game puts players in the role of a sovereign of a fledgling kingdom in a world devastated by a war of magic. "Elemental: Reforged is the culmination of the vision Stardock had for this series since we started work on it over 15 years ago," said Bradley Wardell, CEO of Stardock and OxideGames as well as designer of Elemental: Reforged. "The design of the game was ahead of its time, but limited by PC consumer hardware of the late 2000s. Now with a 64-bit engine, updated graphical fidelity, and a combination of features from all previous releases in the Elemental series, Reforged is exactly what we hoped the original game would be."
In this context, we also had the opportunity to speak with Brad Wardell, the co-founder of Mohawk Games, Mothership Entertainment and EdgeRunner. We discussed not only the return of Elemental, but also the challenges of marketing such a remaster, the importance of budgeting correctly, and the decision to take over work on Ara: History Untold, which was published by Xbox Game Studios last year.
GamesMarkt: Why did you decide to bring Elemental back? What makes the game so special?
Brad Wardell: "For us, we wanted to make the ultimate fantasy sandbox game, where every game felt very different from one another, one that blended strategy and RPG elements. It was, even to this day, by far the most ambitious game we'd ever tried to make and certainly the best game design I ever did. So being able to see it really come to life, albeit, 15 years later, has been a dream of ours for many years."
GamesMarkt: Elemental: Reforged launched in Early Access during a busy release period. What are your thoughts on the game's chances in the market, and what niche will it serve?
Brad Wardell: "For us this game has been a labor of love. When we put it out, we really only expected a small group of dedicated fans to be interested. So, we've been pretty blown away at the interest and response. It's already done far beyond our expectations."
GamesMarkt: What challenges come with marketing a game like Elemental: Reforged?
Brad Wardell: "By far the hardest challenge is the game's dated visuals. The game was made 15 years ago, and you can tell. The original plan was to just use the assets from 2009 at their native resolution they were made in (which were much higher than what was in the game). But with interest being so much higher than we expected we are looking at improving the terrain, the characters, etc. and bringing them up to more modern standards. The game won't ever be as visually impressive as a new game but in exchange, players get a game with more customization than, well, any other game that’s probably ever been made."
GamesMarkt: Stardock took over an unpolished 4X strategy gem called Ara: History Untold from Microsoft/Xbox, which was developed by Oxide Games. How did this unusual publisher change come about? And why does the game suit Stardock so well?
Brad Wardell: "I've had a blast working on Ara: History Untold. Last year Microsoft asked me to step in to help them get the game across the finishing line. I love history games. I started Stardock in the first place because I wanted to make a Civilization game in space."
GamesMarkt: Stardock Entertainment is primarily known for publishing strategy games. How would you currently assess the market for this genre, especially given that classic RTS titles seem to be struggling, despite having a fairly large project in the pipeline with Ashes of the Singularity II, once again in collaboration with Oxide Games?
Brad Wardell: "The biggest challenge I see with games is their budgets. I am not sure when and how publishers began thinking that they could throw movie-sized budgets at most games. For every GTA there's ten thousand games that don't even make the $100 Steam fee back. So, when it comes to strategy games, the key thing is that you need to build an audience and support them and that means budgeting it right in the first place. You don't blow your budget assuming you're going to make a mega hit. You budget assuming a modest success and then make sure there's enough left over to support your players for years to come. That's how you build an audience."
Ashes of the Singularity II reimagines what real-time strategy games can be. Success hinges on the player's strategic prowess rather than micromanagement or reflexes; Stardock Entertainment / Oxide Games
