Publisher Paradox Interactive and Romero Games, the studio of controversial developer John Romero (featured image), recently announced a partnership to create a new strategy game together.
According to the announcement, this will be the first title in a new and entirely original franchise.
As Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud said in a recent statement:
We are excited to work with industry legends such as Brenda and John Romero, whose games have long inspired us and earned our admiration (...). At Paradox Interactive, we have built a reputation with high-level strategy games, and we are putting that experience to work to help create something truly special with the Romero Games team.
On the same occasion, Romero Games cofounder Brenda Romero said:
This is a project we have wanted to work on for a long time, so it is especially exciting that we will partner with Paradox Interactive to make that dream a reality. We cannot share any more details, so stay tuned.
For those unfamiliar with them, John Romero is known worldwide for his work on games such as Doom and Quake, while publisher Paradox Interactive is renowned for realistic strategy titles that faithfully emphasize maps and historical narratives. Its famous titles include Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, and Pillars of Eternity, developed in partnership with Obsidian Entertainment, for example.
Below is the trailer for Europa Universalis IV.
Daikatana, John Romero's "Failed" Project
Daikatana is a first-person shooter developed by Romero together with Ion Storm and Eidos Interactive. It was initially released for PC in 2000 and later for Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color, and is commonly known as one of the biggest commercial failures in its industry.
During the development of Daikatana, the game was promoted in an offensive way by John Romero, famous as one of the "fathers" of first-person shooters through his involvement with games such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom , and Quake. Time magazine commented that "everything John Romero touches turns to gold and blood," and another aggressive advertisement involving profanity also badly tarnished the image of the companies involved.
In the end, the negative criticism surrounding the game "weighed heavily," with serious consequences for Romero's image. He apologized to the public after its release.
