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https://mp1st.com/news/unannounced-warhammer-rpg-cancelled-games-workshop
Report: Unannounced Warhammer RPG Cancelled by Games Workshop
Last year was significant for the Warhammer franchise, highlighted by the much-anticipated launch of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, which became the most-played game in the series and one of the year’s top sellers on Steam. Additionally, an episode that follows up the events of Space Marines 2 was released for Amazon’s anthology series, Secret Level, and it’s been confirmed that a series set in the Warhammer 40K universe starring Henry Cavill is in development.
Given all this, it’s unsurprising that more Warhammer games are on the horizon. However, not everything is all sunshine and daisies, as recent discoveries indicate that a planned franchise game has been canceled in recent months.
A Developer Hit With Several Layoffs And a Cancellation
The canceled game in question was being developed by Thought Pennies, a studio founded in 2020 by Tim Erns, who previously worked on franchises like Star Wars and Final Fantasy. This studio, described on its website as an RPG games developer, was affected by rounds of layoffs in both 2023 and late 2024. The latter round was particularly devastating, as it followed a “change of strategic direction” by an unnamed publisher, leaving the studio’s current project without funding.
The project was described as a “multiplatform, social role-playing game.” Although it was never officially revealed, resumes from a few employees claim it was set in the Warhammer universe and ultimately canceled due to a lack of funding. The game was being developed in Unreal Engine 5 and had been in development since at least 2022, although it’s unclear if it started earlier.
One particular resume describes the game as a third person “Co-Op PvE Action RPG with a cast of unique heroes and playstyles,” featuring a mix of melee and ranged combat, and monstrous enemies set in a dark fantasy world. Although it doesn’t mention Warhammer, it’s evident that it refers to this franchise if we connect the dark fantasy description with the previous mentions. Other details mentioned are more technical, like the inclusion of enhanced combat feels with hit-pause and camera shake and immersive wall squeeze-through animations.
This would mean that Games Workshop eventually decided to withdraw funding for the project, leading to another round of layoffs and the subsequent cancellation of the title. This is especially unfortunate considering the words of Daniel Erickson, the studio’s CCO, in his LinkedIn post, where he stated that the game’s development was progressing well and that they had great feedback. Sadly, it seems we won’t see the fruits of the studio’s years of work.
Fortunately for Warhammer fans, several other games in the franchise are currently in development. These include a sequel to the 2018 game Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus and an ambitious MMORPG developed by Jackalyptic Games and published by NetEase.
