Relic Weapons
A Canadian developer founded in 1997, known for Homeworld, Dawn of War, and Company of Heroes.
Relic Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as THQ Canada Inc.) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as Homeworld, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. Acquired by THQ in 2004, the company was sold to Sega on January 22, 2013, as part of THQ's bankruptcy and operated under its European division. By May 2024, Relic had secured a partnership with an external investment group, allowing it to split from Sega and operate independently.
Lore & Background
Relic was founded in May 1997 by Alex Garden, Luke Moloney, Erin Daly, Aaron Kambeitz, Rob Cunningham, Gary Shaw, and Shane Alfreds. The name of the company was chosen because they liked the name and it was easy to pronounce. Their first title, Homeworld, was released on September 28, 1999, to critical acclaim and successful sales. Though they did not immediately continue working on the franchise (Sierra Entertainment, the game's publisher, owned the rights), the game did have a spin-off, Homeworld: Cataclysm, developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by Sierra. Their next title was Impossible Creatures, released by Microsoft on January 7, 2003. It focused on a fictional environment during the 1930s, allowing players to design units from different anatomical parts of animals. The game was successful, though it did not receive the same attention as Homeworld. Homeworld 2 was released on September 16, 2003. Although it boasted improved graphics and features and changed some elements of gameplay from the original, reviews cited some issues and did not score it as highly as its predecessor.
Reader's Guide
In December 2012, during THQ bankruptcy filings, it was revealed that Relic Entertainment 'is currently developing Company of Heroes 2 for a calendar year 2013 release and a new game with the working title Atlas for a release in calendar year 2014.' On January 23, 2013, it was revealed that THQ had sold Relic Entertainment to Sega for US$26.6 million as part of an auction of the company's properties. Sega outbid ZeniMax Media by $300,000. The Homeworld franchise was sold to Gearbox Software at a separate auction in April 2013. On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announced that Relic will develop Age of Empires IV. On July 12, 2021, Relic Entertainment announced Company of Heroes 3 for PC to be released late 2022. On May 23, 2023, three months to the day after the release of Company of Heroes 3, it was reported that Sega would be laying off more than 120 employees at Relic, blaming external factors negatively impacting the wider industry. On March 28, 2024, Relic Entertainment announced that an external investor had assisted it in going independent. One week later, the studio laid off over 40 employees.
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