Campfire Cabal - new RPG studio led by Logic Artists creative director Jonas Waever - shut down by THQ Nordic

[Infinitron]

https://www.thqnordic.com/article/r...former-expeditions-rome-developers-thq-nordic

Relight the Fire: Developer Campfire Cabal Founded By Former Expeditions: Rome Developers & THQ Nordic​

Copenhagen, Denmark / Vienna, Austria, September 13, 2022 –THQ Nordic has set sail on a new expedition to Denmark with the formation of a new development studio called Campfire Cabal! The studio was formed by industry veterans who worked on titles such as the highly acclaimed Expeditions: Rome, the Hitman-series, and Hunt: Showdown. Campfire Cabal will focus on high-quality, narrative-driven RPGs and is currently working on a project that has yet to be publicly disclosed.

Check out the intro teaser for Campfire Cabal: https://youtu.be/heTIhlF0mFc

Campfire Cabal will be an independent development studio under THQ Nordic and will be led by its management team and Creative Director, Jonas Wæver.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

wow, they announced a company

...ok.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Interssting. Good luck to them.

 

[Roguey]

So are these guys going to inherit Divinity: Fallen Heroes?

 

[Infinitron]

https://twitter.com/CampfireCabal

Campfire Cabal is a mid-size game development studio in Copenhagen owned by THQ Nordic. We create high quality turn-based role-playing games for PC and console.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Boring title + boring character designs + nothing happening + boring music. I'm so excited.

 

[The Wall]

I'm excited for more rape of History. After we wuz roman centurions an shiiiiet, who knows what will they come up with next!? Maybe Tupak as Queen Elizabeth, Lill Wayne as Louis XIV or Cardi B as Atilla. May Blackrock and Vanguard watch over them*

*THQ Nordic is ESG corporation. Their goal was to buy up all middle sized studios, so that cultural control over gaming would be complete

 

[Infinitron]

https://campfirecabal.com/the-office/

The Office​

Posted by Jonas Wæver, Creative Director

When we started Campfire Cabal, one of the mandates we received from THQ Nordic right from the start was to make sure we got a really nice office for the team. A good work environment is important, perhaps especially so in the creative industries.

After a few months of office-hunting, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon an incredibly attractive opportunity: a recently vacated apartment in Holckenhus, a building from the late 1800s smack-dab in the middle of Copenhagen.

It easily fulfilled all our needs: the right amount of space for us to grow into, close to public transport, a good view, and distinct rooms to minimise noise and allow teams to have impromptu meetings without disturbing everyone else. As a fun extra, it resembles the style of the THQ Nordic offices in Vienna so anyone from the mothership will feel at home when they come to visit.

The only drawback was that the landlord needed 3 months to renovate the place. In the middle of November, we finally moved into our new digs, after a further delay to wait for a nice fast enterprise fibre connection and a delivery of office furniture.

Here are some photos from the week after we moved in, when almost everything was in place. Now we just need to hang some stuff on the walls.

(click for photos, they can't be easily copy-pasted)

 

[Infinitron]

Also for some reason this from September 21st never showed up in the RSS feed: https://campfirecabal.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Frequently Asked Questions​

Posted by Fasih Sayin, Narrative Director

A lot of developers try to be honest and direct, but it is not always easy. For starters, getting misunderstood can be worse than not saying anything at all, and misunderstandings can spread like wildfire on the internet.

There’s the business side of the equation too. We need to be careful about every single word we utter, conscious of the fact that we are never “off the record”. In game development things are always in motion and ever changing. You do not want to end up promising something only to ultimately not deliver.

And then there’s the marketing side of things. You announce something too early and when the time comes no one will remember it. Yet announce something too late and no one will hear it…

Campfire Cabal is built on a foundation of honesty. We know there’s a lot of uncertainty and even misinformation regarding our fledgling cabal, its past and its future. So let us directly answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

What is Campfire Cabal?​

In simple terms, Campfire Cabal is a new studio wholly owned by THQ Nordic.

Why is Campfire Cabal?​

Weird question for you to ask, but I respect that. THQ Nordic wanted to found this studio because they were happy with our previous work and they wanted more of it. We certainly wanted to make more of what we did in the past, so it’s a win-win situation. If you also wanted more of the kind of games we make, we can call it a win-win-win situation.

Yes, but when you say “We” what do you mean? Who are you people?​

Assuming you’re not asking an existential question, the answer is that we are mostly developers who have previously worked on at least one Expeditions title, as well as a few fresh faces. That includes but is not limited to Jonas Wæver, the creative director of all the Expeditions titles and one of the founders of Logic Artists.

Is Campfire Cabal the new Logic Artists?​

Now that’s an awkward question, especially considering Logic Artists still exists as an entity (at least last time I checked they did). So, the answer is legally no.

Practically? No.

Spiritually? Kind of… From now on we will be taking care of Expeditions and making games in the same vein… so I don’t know. Your call.

What did happen to Logic Artists?​

That’s not a question I can or should answer. Logic Artists is now a subsidiary of Dynasty Studios, neither of which have anything to do with Campfire Cabal or THQ Nordic.

Are you going to make blockchain games? Will you sell NFTs?​

No and no. And this I can say with complete and full certainty. We have nothing to do with NFTs. And we read enough sci-fi to realise that Snow Crash was describing a dystopia. Our next game will not include anything related to blockchain tech.

So, what will you make?​

RPGs. We have some plans and some projects. We’re not ready to reveal them yet, but rest assured whatever we do will be a story rich RPG with meaningful choices and awesome turn-based combat.

Will there be another Expeditions game?​

Expeditions: Rome did very well critically and commercially. It’s a safe assumption that THQ Nordic will want to release more games in the series.

Your next game is a new Expeditions game, isn't it?​

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. We’re not ready to announce what we’re working on yet.

Is it Expeditions: Mongols? Is it Expeditions: Crusaders? Is it Expeditions: Three Kingdoms? Is it Expeditions: Mars?​

Nice try

But no comment.

Are you even allowed to make a new Expeditions game?​

Sure.

THQ Nordic owns Expeditions, and they own Campfire Cabal. Before you yell [citation needed] at the screen, here’s the news about that.

The “Expeditions” IP was created by Logic Artists, but in 2018 THQ Nordic bought it in its entirety.

But that doesn't mean you're making another Expeditions game, does it?​

Again… nice try. And correct! It doesn’t mean we’re making another Expeditions game.

Was Expeditions: Rome ever in danger of being abandoned post release?​

It was not. The contract between Logic Artists and THQ Nordic included a certain period of post–launch support and at least one piece of DLC.

Who will take care of Expeditions: Rome now? Is it abandoned?​

No, it isn’t abandoned. We will take care of Expeditions from now on. As far as you are concerned, nothing will change.

Will you release more content for Expeditions: Rome?​

Honestly, right now we have no new paid DLCs in the pipeline. Expeditions: Rome was never conceived to be a “live service” game. It is very story–focused and as far as we are concerned, that story is already told. We will certainly take care of bugs and maybe issue some quality-of-life updates in the future, but I would not hold my breath for full–on paid downloadable content.

I hope this answers at least the majority of your questions.

This doesn’t answer all of my questions. How can I reach you?​

Assuming you are reading this on our website, congratulations. You have found our website. We also have a Twitter account.

 

[Roguey]

Are you going to make blockchain games? Will you sell NFTs?​

No and no. And this I can say with complete and full certainty. We have nothing to do with NFTs. And we read enough sci-fi to realise that Snow Crash was describing a dystopia. Our next game will not include anything related to blockchain tech.

 

[Fedora Master]

Who cares. They have no product. Stop posting.

 

[Abu Antar]

Studio got aborted.

 

[Roguey]

Man, this guy keeps losing.

 

[Infinitron]

As I feared: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ng-up-all-the-ips.120435/page-21#post-8524263

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7093549472978231297/

The news has started to pick up that Campfire Cabal has been shut down. We'd like to take a moment to issue an official statement to clear up some of what's going on.

As most of you must already be aware, the Embracer Group has recently entered restructuring. As part of this restructuring process, THQ Nordic has been told to close Campfire Cabal. This decision was not related to the work we've been doing at the studio but was made from a purely financial standpoint. We want to make it clear that our management and the rest of the team have not given up on Campfire Cabal yet, and neither have our friends at THQ Nordic. We are still pursuing our options for finding a good resolution to this situation, and THQ Nordic has been very supportive throughout this difficult time.

You may see more of our team members begin to openly look for new work in the coming days. We have actively encouraged our team to start job-seeking now since the process of finding work can be slow, and we don't want anyone to have to consider the needs of our company over their own.

However, this does not mean that it's over for us as a studio. We're extremely proud of how our team has come together to keep the Campfire burning, and of the commitment and camaraderie everyone has demonstrated since the news broke. We'd like to thank everyone who has reached out with messages of support and everyone who has taken the time to talk to us about future possibilities for Campfire Cabal.

We've done a lot of great work over the past year, and it is our fervent hope that we will find a way to keep it going.

Thank you all for your support,

Jonas Wæver
Creative Director

 

[Fedora Master]

Lmao your Touch of Death can even kill studios.

 

[Lord_Potato]

A pity. We could use some more Expeditions games. While Rome was too long and often too woke, it was still an entertaining game with interesting challenges and encounters.

 

[Infinitron]

Posted on the website as well: https://campfirecabal.com/studio-closure/

 

[lycanwarrior]

Embracer shuts down Campfire Cabal:​

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/embracer-shuts-down-campfire-cabal

The decision was part of the game publisher's restructuring program and "purely financial"

 

[lycanwarrior]

Embracer shuts down Campfire Cabal​

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/embracer-shuts-down-campfire-cabal

The decision was part of the game publisher's restructuring program and "purely financial"

 

[Gradenmayer]

Imagine making a company and getting shut down before your project even gets announced.

That’s why you go indie or at least do not go with one of the most hated, and greedy companies there are.

 

[bobocrunch]

i think id firebomb the head office if my company got shut down and the COO sent some limp wristed facebook-tier reply