Romero, Paradox team up on new strategy title

Publisher Paradox Interactive has announced a deal with Brenda and John Romero, of Doom, Quake, and less so Daikatana fame, to develop an as-yet untitled strategy game based on original intellectual property (IP).

While the commercial failure of Daikatana, John Romero's attempt to surpass former employer Id Software's Quake franchise, was a blow, Romero and his game-developer wife Brenda Romero weren't completely switched off the industry. After a brief foray into social gaming and a failed crowdfunding campaign in partnership with fellow Id Software alumnus John Carmack, John Romero concentrated on honing his design skills with a new expansion pack for the original Doom, building on the work he had done for a singular new level released in 2016.

Now, the Romeros are having a go at another first-party IP - and they've teamed up with Paradox Interactive, publisher and developer of games including Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, Cities: Skylines, and Pillars of Eternity.

'This has been a project we’ve been wanting to work on for a long time, so it’s especially exciting that we’ll be partnering with Paradox Interactive to fully realise that dream,' claims Brenda Romero, co-founder of Romero Games, of the deal. 'We can't wait to tell everyone more, so make sure you watch this space!'

'We are thrilled to work with industry legends, Brenda and John Romero, whose games we've grown up playing ourselves and long admired,' adds Ebba Ljungerud, chief executive of Paradox Interactive. 'At Paradox Inteactive, we've built a reputation for top-tier strategy games and we're employing that expertise to help build something really special with the team at Romero Games.'

Neither company is revealing much about the upcoming title, beyond the fact it's a strategy game - a shift for Romero, who is better known for violent first-person shooters, but bread and butter to Paradox - and that it is based on a wholly new intellectual property (IP). In other words, it's unlikely to be Daikatana: The Real-Time Strategy.

The project has a website which promises more information at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and provides a newsletter sign-up for more information.