Total War dev wins Warhammer license

The Creative Assembly has picked up the rights to Games Workshop's Warhammer fantasy war gaming intellectual property.

The developer responsible for the Total War series has set up a special team to work on the franchise. The first title from the studio is scheduled for 'beyond 2013'.

'We’ll be doing the Warhammer universe justice in a way that has never been attempted before. We’re bringing those 25 years of experience and expertise in extremely high-scoring games to bear, delivering a Warhammer experience that videogamers will absolutely love,' said Creative Assembly studio director Tim Heaton.

The Creative Assembly is also working on an untitled project using the Alien franchise and is also working on Total War: Rome II which is due for release in October 2013.

The rights to Games Workshop's science fiction counterpart, Warhammer 40,000, still remains with THQ, which has been outputting s steady stream of titles set in the universe through Relic Entertainment. The studio is currently developing Dark Millenium alongside Vigil Games, a title that has started life as an MMO but may have now transitioned to a single player title following financial complications faced by THQ.

Warhammer has made its way to the gaming world before through several incarnations, including classic RTS Shadow of the Horned Rat and MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

The Warhammer universe has also been a source of inspiration for developers in the past. Blizzard's original Warcraft real time strategy title was initially modelled on the Warhammer world with the intention of obtaining the Warhammer license. When that failed to happen, Blizzard instead made a few changes to forge its own intellectual property.