THQ boss cools Space Marine 2 talk

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 14 October, 2011

"I'm not sure there's room for Space Marine."

THQ has poured cold water on the possibility of a Space Marine sequel.

It believes it may clash with 2013 MMO Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online.

"We've already announced the Imperium in the MMO as a class you can play," THQ core games boss Danny Bilson told Joystiq.

"And if you combine that it's very active, as opposed to the more turn-based stuff. I'm not sure there's room for Space Marine."

Space Marine, developed using the Darksiders game engine by Dawn of War maker Relic, was the tenth best-selling game in the US for the month of September. Space Marine entered the UK all-formats chart in second place, and now lingers in 11th.

The game is "doing okay," Bilson said. "It's a really good game, it's doing pretty well. In this world, honestly, you have to do exceptionally well to make any money, because the games are so expensive."

While Bilson's comments are sure to disappoint Space Marine fans, he did promise THQ remains committed to the popular fantasy license.

"We are heavily invested in the 40K universe, so there's more stuff coming in the 40K universe, absolutely," he said. "We extended the deal for quite a while."

In July, Relic said discussions about Space Marine 2 were "literally, just starting". Marketing manager James McDermott teased "some of the more popular fiction within the 40K universe" as a likely source base. Space Hulk? Horus Heresy?

We do know Relic will help Vigil with the creation of Dark Millennium Online. And before Space Marine launched, Vigil took a close look at the combat system used in the brutal third-person action game with a view to perhaps incorporating it into the mysterious MMO.

Dark Millennium Online will be playable at next year's E3 trade show, with a launch at some point during THQ's next financial year - between April 2012 and March 2013.

Producer Andy Lang offered his thoughts to Eurogamer in a Space Marine post-mortem, published this week.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 7 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Daeltaja #1 7 months ago

    Danny, in case you haven't noticed, there is a steady stream of 6/10 games coming from your studios.

  • Vermillion3000 #2 7 months ago

    If you build it - I will buy!

    Space Marine was a really good game but you can see where there is scope for development and improvement.
    Space Marines are the heart of the 40K universe for many people, and punching cockney orks should be an olympic event.

    I'm hoping that this is just cautious talk and that a full sequel will occur.

  • The-Jack-Burton #3 7 months ago

    Makes sense, if no one buys the first game then why exactly would you invest in a sequel.

  • syra #4 7 months ago

    Assuming that there is space for DMO in an overcrowded MMO marketplace...

    Space Marine 2 has a lot more potential for success...

  • bad09 #5 7 months ago

    I've not got it yet but played the demo so I'll will pick it up but I wonder why would a sequel "clash" with a MMO? Not everyone wants to grind and not everyone wants to turn a game into a monthly bill. Surely there is room for both types of game?
    Edited by bad09 at 14/10/11 @ 15:00

  • Der_tolle_Emil #6 7 months ago

    If this was their own, new IP I'd somewhat understand (but still be disappointed) but I don't see the Warhammer 40k IP being any less interesting two years down the line compared to now? The IP alone will sell games, fix the flaws in the first game and you'll have a real winner. The game did a lot of things right and I'd love to see it live up to all of our high hopes.

  • chiefian #7 7 months ago

    I thoroughly enjoyed Space Marine and it still has a great multiplayer experience that's nice and fast-paced. Still hopeful for a sequel!

  • Gearskin #8 7 months ago

    If Darksiders can get a sequel, I'm sure Space Marine can get a sequel.

  • vibroguy #9 7 months ago

    This news makes me a sad panda

  • Freek #10 7 months ago

    Speaking for myself; I don't play MMO so I will never play the 40K MMO, but I am interested in a Space Marince sequel. If there's more people like me out there, then there's room for your sequel and your MMO.

  • Darren #11 7 months ago

    Not interested in an MMO either but I did really enjoy Space Marine's campaign on the PC.

  • Crea #12 7 months ago

    I suspect sales have not been strong enough for a sequel, more's the pity, because I thought this was a fundamentally sound game that could have been incredible on a second outing. VGChartz estimated sales figures don't look promising, for this...

  • 32768Colours #13 7 months ago

    Seems THQ will only ever make sequels to games if they think they can sell as much as COD. They want to be Activision so bad it hurts; lacking any clear direction of their own in spite of knocking out some decent games.

  • Gnort #14 7 months ago

    Nooooo!

    I thought Space Marine was a solid first effort, but a sequel could be phenomenal, there are so many great 40K things they could put into it: Eldar, tyranids, Necrons, Tau, terminator armour, powerfists, controlling predator tanks, land speeders... I could go on and on.

  • berelain #15 7 months ago

    Fuck you THQ, fuck you.

    Space Marine is one of the best games of the year, especially in multiplayer, and I can't wait for the co-op DLC. THQ would rather turn out Kinect fitness shite than invest in one of their most interesting products? Bah.

    Besides, the point he makes is stupid. The people who play Space Marine and the people who play Dark Millennium Online are two separate audiences, with enough overlap of Warhammer 40k fans that would buy both games anyway.

  • Lamb #16 7 months ago

    He has been corrupted by Ulkair! :p

  • xuiton #17 7 months ago

    as much as I love 40k, space marine was a mediocre game. Multiplayer good but not great and the single player is abit shit. you don't even get to fight the last 'boss'.

  • Snidesworth #18 7 months ago

    @bad09 - If there's an MMO which offers a 40k action experience with monthly fees and grind and another game that offers a 40k action experience without those "extras" which do you think people will flock to? Space Marine was a solid game, if not an exceptional one, and a second one may take customers away from DMO, especially if they build upon what they learnt. That's the issue here, I think.

  • BadMonkey #19 7 months ago

    Seems to me THQ are wanting new franchises to sell CoD numbers, but without putting in the iterations to build the fan base which is insanely short sighted. Modern warfare 3 may well be a huge release, but (if my counting is correct) it is also the eighth outing for the franchise. And I for one would dearly love Space Marine 2.

  • SaintDaveUK #20 7 months ago

    Relic, just go back to what you are good at. Amazing RTS games on PC. I would very much enjoy Company of Heroes 2.

  • Triggerhappytel #21 7 months ago

    THQ need some lessons on building a brand - I thought they had the right idea with Darksiders, but need to transfer that same thinking to other games as well. Not every 'new'* game will sell 2 million on release, which seems to be what they expect with all their games.



    *I used inverted commas as obviously the WH40K universe is not a new gaming brand, but it has been relatively under-represented in the videogame industry in terms of mass market adoption and break-out hits.

  • Rogueywon #22 7 months ago

    I liked Space Marine - quite a lot actually. I'd acknowledge the flaws that were flagged up in the EG review, but I felt that the score did come out at the harsh end of the spectrum. To my mind, it was a very solid shooter, which was not afraid to jettison some of the more tired and over-used mechanics from recent third person shooters. It had, I think, two major flaws: a ranged combat system that felt a bit floaty and imprecise, and a lack of variety to the gameplay that you started to feel towards the end of the game.

    Both of those are problems that could be resolved fairly easily for a sequel. In addition, if THQ are worried about getting crowded out of the market, they could try not releasing alongside Deus Ex, Resistance 3 and Gears 3 next time.

  • linea #23 7 months ago

    So let me get this straight, from a purely business perspective-

    -You've got a well-known IP with a large committed fanbase and worldwide recognition

    -Said IP is ideally suited to the shooter genre

    -Shooters are very popular

    -You've got a talented developer who've made a game which was generally agreed to be mechanically fundamentally solid but lackng content and variety. Exactly the position Ubisoft was in for example with the first Assassin's Creed for example

    -and you're going to ditch that in favour of a completely different genre?

    er...

  • HeNiCiDe1988 #24 7 months ago

    i think they need to register that not everyone are fans of MMO and you will may have a large chunk of people, but some will want to just have shoot outs like in space marine. So its wrong to abandon the product imo.

  • gintoki #25 7 months ago

    Maybe if the co-op and multiplayer had beenavailalbe and working from day 1 you'd have more sales. I know at least one person waiting for the promised co-op. I love Space Marine and would be up for SM2 but won't touch a MMO.