WotC New WotC Game Studio Headed By Bioware's James Ohlen

Ex-Bioware designer James Ohlen is in the news a lot right now! He’s behind the Odyssey of the Dragonlords Kickstarter, the new Heroes of Baldur’s Gate hardcover, and is now also heading up a studio for WotC!

OH MY G-

It’s not a D&D project though. It’s original IP of some kind.

*closes tab*

 

[Guest 6801328]

Hello Kitty: Island Adventure VII.

This time the island just happens to be Chult.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

The market is plenty ready for a 5e D&D game. Hell, I've been waiting for one since the horrid Sword Coast Legends (which was advertised as 5e, but was barely D&D, let alone 5e). It's been 5 years since it died ignominiously and took nSpace down with it...time to give it a proper go.

Only three and a half years ago that it was released on PC, actually, and less than three years ago for the PS4 version, so even less for it to die. But it was so bad, I can see you wanting more distance from it than actually exists. lol

 

[vecna00]

If they'll be working on a new IP outside of Magic and D&D, what if it was something akin to the old Alternity system? If it's not a video game, I can see them doing something like this. Hell, even if it is a video game I can still see them doing sci-fi.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Star Frontiers CRPG - I would so much want this. I would even settle for Gamma World, but Fallout has already been there, done that, and been bought out by a company that doesn't understand it.

 

[CapnZapp]

The market is plenty ready for a 5e D&D game.

Problem is, the market for such a game is not the triple-A game I imagine the licensing fees require.

That is, Hasbro thinks the brand is stronger than it is. You simply do not need D&D to do your fantasy game.

 

[Umbran]

Problem is, the market for such a game is not the triple-A game I imagine the licensing fees require.

The OP is a little fuzzy on the details of the business relationship: "Ohlen is opening up a new game studio in Texas for WotC." If WotC actually *owns* the studio, there are no licensing fees.

You simply do not need D&D to do your fantasy game.

That's true. While sequels do well, I don't get the sense that the market has any resistance at all to new properties. And I expect graphics and gameplay have much more to do with success than the underlying property's ruleset.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I would say that the Pillars of Eternity franchise suffers from a lack of an underlying ruleset. The developers are constantly tinkering with classes and abilities in pursuit of an impossible vision of "balance", which means you don't know how a class will play from one month to the next.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[pukunui]

As an aside, WotC has announced a new mobile game: Warriors of Waterdeep.

 

[Immortal Sun]

Hopefully they won't sell this one to EA after a few successful titles.