Master of Orion 4X strategy series returns under Wargaming’s banner

The World of Tanks company’s next game is not another slow-paced World War II-era vehicle shooter. Instead, it’s going back to exploring, expanding, exploiting, and exterminating in space.

Wargaming is planning to bring back Master of Orion, a beloved 4X turn-based sci-fi strategy franchise that debuted in 1993. Argentine-based NGD Studios will develop the new release alongside “key members from the original title’s team,” according to a press release. This comes 12 years after Master of Orion III, which was highly anticipated but failed to live up to expectations. Publisher Infogrames, now Atari, released the last Master of Orion, but Wargaming actually purchased the rights to the franchise from an Atari bankruptcy hearing in July 2013.