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Triumph has been working on a new Overlord experience

But it might not carry that name or be attached to Codemasters.

Dutch studio Triumph offered me a glimmer of hope that the Overlord series - a deliciously evil set of Pikmin-like RPG strategy games - will live on. Although maybe not by that name.

The last Overlord game, Overlord 2, came out three years ago in 2009.

"Many people have been asking about 'when is Overlord 3 coming or something else in that vein?'" Triumph managing director and co-owner Lennart Sas told me.

"And we have been working on that sort of game. Whether or not it's Overlord 3 I can't tell [you], but there's definitely stuff that's in the works."

A day after I spoke to Sas, a related post on the Triumph Facebook page appeared.

"Since Summer 2009 when Overlord 2 has been released, we have been working on multiple unannounced projects," it read. "We have done extensive pre-production, engine work and playable prototypes on projects that would very much appeal to Overlord fans.

"But with all the volatility in our industry and the coming console transition, the planets haven't aligned favourably for this type of project to be taken into full-scale production - yet. We have high hopes that in the future we'll be able to bring you humour-filled action-RPG games with added minions."

The post asked you to bear with Triumph because, as the Overlord IP is owned by Codemasters, it couldn't talk freely yet.

Concept art for the Overlord-type game Triumph has been tinkering away at.

Lennart Sas expanded on Codemasters relationship when I spoke to him. "Well Overlord is of course a game that has been published with Codemasters and they are the IP owners," he acknowledged. "At this point we've been in talks, but I can't tell a lot about this. It's something that we're still very fond of. We'd love to announce a new game there soon but not yet - not at this moment."

He added: "We'd love to return to that vibe and game and world again. Whether or not that's with Codemasters or in some other form we can't tell - we can't disclose at this moment."

Both Overlord games were well received although Overlord 2 didn't seem to sell well. They were part of Codemasters' attempt to distinguish itself as a publisher of games other than racers. It was a venture that didn't work out, and today Codemasters sticks more or less to the racing games it does best.

I've asked about Codemasters' enthusiasm to return to Overlord and will update this story with whatever I hear back. As Lennart Sas pointed out, there's a new generation of consoles upon us and that may present opportunities for Overlord. Whether Codemasters will try again next generation I don't know. I doubt it.

Triumph returned to the public eye this week with the reveal of its new game, Age of Wonders 3, which it's been working on since 2010.

Intriguingly, Triumph won't yet say who its "big partner" for that project is, although there's reason to believe it could be Epic Games. Assuming Epic Games has bought some kind of stake in Triumph, it could mean that the Dutch studio has no need of Codemasters to revive an experience like Overlord in the future.