Real-time strategy game maker Frost Giant Studios has teamed up on an advisory basis with Mike and Amy Morhaime’s Dreamhaven, and it is licensing Unreal Engine 5 from Epic Games.
As part of the partnership agreement, Dreamhaven will provide consultation on product development, feedback in preproduction, and will also playtest the game. That’s important for Frost Giant Games, whose founders come from Blizzard. And Mike Morhaime is a cofounder of Blizzard.
The Irvine, California-based Frost Giant Studios comes from StarCraft and Warcraft veterans Tim Morten and Tim Campbell. In October, they raised $4.7 million in venture capital funding from Bitkraft Ventures, 1Up Ventures, GC Tracker, Riot Games, and Griffin Gaming Partners.
Frost Giant Studios is focused on real-time strategy in part because it hasn’t gotten as much attention as other genres, like battle royale shooters or console action-adventure games. The Frost Giant team believes that RTS games on the PC can still be a vibrant part of gaming in the future.
Morten was the production director on Blizzard’s StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, which came out in 2015 and was the final expansion for StarCraft II. Campbell was the original lead campaign designer for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Those games were among the most successful RTS titles of all time, but Morten felt he had to leave Blizzard to work on another RTS.
Dreamhaven’s goals
Meanwhile, Dreamhaven was founded around a common goal to empower creators, help bring their ideas to life, and create original gaming experiences that foster meaningful connections between players. Frost Giant has also signed a licensing deal with Epic Games, creators of Unreal Engine 5 (UE5), which went into early access availability this week.
The Dreamhaven team is composed of the original Blizzard RTS leadership team, who will offer applicable and valuable guidance as Frost Giant fulfills its strategy to lower the barrier to entry to RTS as well as significantly enhancing co-operative, campaign, and competitive gameplay.
“We are so fortunate to be able to work with the industry giants at Dreamhaven who were instrumental in creating the RTS legacy that inspired Frost Giant. Mike Morhaime has helped set a benchmark for real-time strategy games that has not been surpassed. He remains engaged with the genre and the community today, and his advice will be incredibly valuable as we work to bring real-time strategy (RTS) games to a broad audience,” Campbell said.
“We couldn’t be happier to see Frost Giant putting Unreal Engine 5 through its paces as they build their next-generation RTS,” said David Stelzer, director of business development for Unreal Engine at Epic Games, in an email to GamesBeat. “It’s easy to imagine how UE5’s generational leap in technology and workflows will open up new possibilities for building worlds that are richer and more dynamic than ever before, with limitless possibilities when it comes to gameplay. We’re grateful to have this awesome team along for the journey with us right out of the gate as we launch UE5 in Early Access.”