Summary
Raw Power Games, an independent studio comprising veteran developers of The Witcher 3, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and Crusader Kings III (among others), have called on players for support after losing their funding - an existential threat to both the organisation and to their debut, the still-in-development historical strategy game Chronicles: Medieval. In a statement posted last week, Raw Power announced that “the necessary funding” behind the studio was no longer in place, despite Chronicles: Medieval – which was unveiled last year with an expensive-looking, Tom Hardy-narrated trailer – apparently being within touching distance of its planned early access launch. Hardy or no Hardy, however, the statement declared that they aren’t “going down without a fight”, hinting at talks with what could be possible new investors, asking interested would-be fans to “keep talking about” the game, and encouraging its inclusion on Steam Wishlists. Watch on YouTube A few days on, the impact of this rallying call remains unclear. Raw Power Games have made no further statements, and Chronicles: Medieval does not seem to appear on Steam’s own list of Top Wishlisted games. SteamDB have it at #26 in their desire-o-rankings, representing no change from its position immediately before the funding announcement was made, and while the game’s Steam follower count has increased by over 1,000 week-on-week – significantly more so than surrounding games in the list – that doesn’t feel like the kind of wild grassroots support that might save a dozens-strong studio. Still, as my childhood television used to say, every little helps, and I’m inclined to hope for Raw Power’s survival if only as an antidote to the enthusiasm-poisining dread of seeing so many other developers being laid off and shut down. Chronicles: Medieval looks promisingly ambitious too, mashing up sprawling Mount & Blade-style battles with an RPG-flavoured strategy layer that involves the player’s custom-created character ascending the snooty social hierarchy of 14th century England. Best of luck to everyone trying to get it over the early access line.