White Wolf, the company that originally brought us the World of Darkness RPG lines, has been owned by CCP (the Icelandic firm which produces Eve Online) for some years now. That company's plans originally involved A WoD MMO, but that go cancelled last year. As far as the tabletop RPGs went, these were licensed to Onyx Path, a company founded by ex-White Wolf staff, and also include Exalted, as well as the various iterations of the Vampire, Werewolf, etc. lines. Well, White Wolf just got bought by the Swedish company Paradox Interactive.
This means that Paradox - a computer games company, like CCP - now owns all those properties. There's no information on whether or not this will affect Onyx Path's tabletop RPG licenses, but Paradox - which calls this its "biggest investment ever" and cost "several tens of millions" of Swedish Krona (divide by 10 to get approximate US dollars) - is likely to pursue the video game angle. White Wolf is going to be operated as "an independent entity with a dedicated team."
Paradox's Shams Jorjani said "We’ve been huge fans of the White Wolf IPs for a long time especially World of Darkness/Vampire. Gonna be great to give it some fresh blood."
Also of interest is that Pradox's Fred Wester says that Vampire is "the world’s second best-selling role-playing and is special because half of all players are women." I'm not sure how true the first half of that sentence is -- Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder pretty much vie for the top spot.
“We’ve been negotiating with CCP for the last year on acquiring White Wolf Publishing and the underlying brands,” Paradox chief executive Fredrik Wester told GamesBeat. “They have sold 5.5 million books, and it’s still the second-best-selling RPG of all time behind Dungeons & Dragons. It adds a lot to Paradox portfolio.”
He also said, regarding licensing, "We’re going to start licensing out the brand again from the beginning. We’ll start with one World of Darkness. We’ll start, basically, from day one to unite the community under one flag."
Onyx Path development producer Rose Bailey said "We knew this deal was brewing, but can't talk about it right now. As far as I know, this includes all White Wolf games still owned by CCP, including both Worlds of Darkness and Exalted. It does not include White Wolf games now owned by other people, such as Scion, Trinity, and Scarred Lands." Onyx Path has been producing the tabletop RPG under license since CCP acquired White Wolf.
As far as existing licenses like Onyx Path's go, it looks like a period of reassessment is coming. Paradoz's Tobias Sjögren said "White Wolf will evaluate all standing relationships with the focus on continue to work with the ones that aligns with our vision of the brand, and also then find new partners to complement the story going forward." Shams Jorjani said "If it makes sense [Paradox] might publish some WW stuff. But our business will stay the same publishing great strategy, management and RPG games."
Onyx Path said the following: "We're touched that so many of you are concerned for us! Thanks for your faith in us. We'll have more to say when we can. Stay tuned."
Here's the official press release:
"STOCKHOLM - Oct. 29, 2015 - Paradox Interactive, a global games developer and publisher, today announced the acquisition of White Wolf Publishing from CCP Games in an all-cash deal. Now a subsidiary of Paradox Interactive, White Wolf Publishing is a licensing business that owns and manages intellectual properties including World of Darkness, Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Led by CEO Tobias Sjögren, former EVP of Business Development at Paradox, White Wolf Publishing will operate as an independent entity with a dedicated team.
White Wolf Publishing has a long history of producing gaming universes that span mediums, including tabletop and collectible card games, PC games and books. Paradox Interactive acquired all of White Wolf’s brands, and its new subsidiary will pursue development opportunities across relevant categories of games under the White Wolf Publishing name.
“Like Paradox’s games, White Wolf’s properties have dedicated, passionate communities. While there are similarities in spirit, White Wolf’s IPs have very different themes than Paradox’s titles, and deserve their own brand and team,” said Fredrik Wester, CEO and President of Paradox Interactive. “We have great respect for White Wolf’s gaming worlds and see big opportunities for their expansion in the future under our new subsidiary.”
“Over the last 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with beloved studios like DICE and Paradox on the business management side of games, and as a developer earlier in my career. I look forward to bringing my experience to bear as we pursue new ways to interact with White Wolf’s universes,” said Tobias Sjögren, CEO of White Wolf Publishing. “The White Wolf IPs are well suited for all kinds of media and we see great potential to expand them in the future.”
"At CCP, we have great admiration for the White Wolf brands and communities, and it was extremely important to us that the acquiring company share the same respect and understanding,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. “With Paradox, we know we are leaving the brands in good hands."
Paradox's Shams Jorjani said "We’ve been huge fans of the White Wolf IPs for a long time especially World of Darkness/Vampire. Gonna be great to give it some fresh blood."
Also of interest is that Pradox's Fred Wester says that Vampire is "the world’s second best-selling role-playing and is special because half of all players are women." I'm not sure how true the first half of that sentence is -- Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder pretty much vie for the top spot.
“We’ve been negotiating with CCP for the last year on acquiring White Wolf Publishing and the underlying brands,” Paradox chief executive Fredrik Wester told GamesBeat. “They have sold 5.5 million books, and it’s still the second-best-selling RPG of all time behind Dungeons & Dragons. It adds a lot to Paradox portfolio.”
He also said, regarding licensing, "We’re going to start licensing out the brand again from the beginning. We’ll start with one World of Darkness. We’ll start, basically, from day one to unite the community under one flag."
Onyx Path development producer Rose Bailey said "We knew this deal was brewing, but can't talk about it right now. As far as I know, this includes all White Wolf games still owned by CCP, including both Worlds of Darkness and Exalted. It does not include White Wolf games now owned by other people, such as Scion, Trinity, and Scarred Lands." Onyx Path has been producing the tabletop RPG under license since CCP acquired White Wolf.
As far as existing licenses like Onyx Path's go, it looks like a period of reassessment is coming. Paradoz's Tobias Sjögren said "White Wolf will evaluate all standing relationships with the focus on continue to work with the ones that aligns with our vision of the brand, and also then find new partners to complement the story going forward." Shams Jorjani said "If it makes sense [Paradox] might publish some WW stuff. But our business will stay the same publishing great strategy, management and RPG games."
Onyx Path said the following: "We're touched that so many of you are concerned for us! Thanks for your faith in us. We'll have more to say when we can. Stay tuned."
Here's the official press release:
"STOCKHOLM - Oct. 29, 2015 - Paradox Interactive, a global games developer and publisher, today announced the acquisition of White Wolf Publishing from CCP Games in an all-cash deal. Now a subsidiary of Paradox Interactive, White Wolf Publishing is a licensing business that owns and manages intellectual properties including World of Darkness, Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Led by CEO Tobias Sjögren, former EVP of Business Development at Paradox, White Wolf Publishing will operate as an independent entity with a dedicated team.
White Wolf Publishing has a long history of producing gaming universes that span mediums, including tabletop and collectible card games, PC games and books. Paradox Interactive acquired all of White Wolf’s brands, and its new subsidiary will pursue development opportunities across relevant categories of games under the White Wolf Publishing name.
“Like Paradox’s games, White Wolf’s properties have dedicated, passionate communities. While there are similarities in spirit, White Wolf’s IPs have very different themes than Paradox’s titles, and deserve their own brand and team,” said Fredrik Wester, CEO and President of Paradox Interactive. “We have great respect for White Wolf’s gaming worlds and see big opportunities for their expansion in the future under our new subsidiary.”
“Over the last 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with beloved studios like DICE and Paradox on the business management side of games, and as a developer earlier in my career. I look forward to bringing my experience to bear as we pursue new ways to interact with White Wolf’s universes,” said Tobias Sjögren, CEO of White Wolf Publishing. “The White Wolf IPs are well suited for all kinds of media and we see great potential to expand them in the future.”
"At CCP, we have great admiration for the White Wolf brands and communities, and it was extremely important to us that the acquiring company share the same respect and understanding,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. “With Paradox, we know we are leaving the brands in good hands."
