In recent weeks, Stardock has made a number of moves that point to a very different direction for the Michigan-based publisher-developer. In addition to announcing a new edition of their Galactic Civilization franchise, they have also helped fund and launch Civilization IV developer Soren Johnson’s new studio, Mohawk Games. They also helped found Oxide Games, a new developer that’s working on a 64-bit engine specially designed around strategy games.
It’s all driven by something called the “Stardock strategic investment fund”, which sounds a bit like something a supervillain would use to fund the construction of an underground bunker and cyborg research. It’s how Stardock are reinvesting the proceeds of the sale of their digital platform, Impulse, into repositioning the company as a more diverse publisher and a more professionalized developer. Given how ambitious Stardock CEO Brad Wardell’s plans for the company sound, however, the underground bunker may not be far behind.
To understand Stardock’s direction today, you have to understand what happened with Elemental: War of Magic. In many ways, Stardock is still shaped by that game’s disastrous launch.