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Wargaming Announces Master Of Orion Reboot
Master of Orion, one of the most influential series to the strategy genre, is being revamped for a modern audience by Wargaming and NGD Studios. The original game is an influential flagship title for the 4X genre and developer NGD Studios is keeping it familiar, as multiple members from the team behind the original Master of Orion are involved with the reboot.
Wargaming also touts this as a homecoming of sorts, as the company found success with its Massive Assault series. “Master of Orion is a game that brings Wargaming truly back to its roots, not only as a company but also in how it influenced my personal interest in both games and making them,” CEO of Wargaming Victor Kislyi says. “The series’ iconic gameplay has stood the test of time and working with NGD Studios to bring the series back to life is a truly exciting moment for the team.”
Wargaming is promising enhanced visuals, as well as a rebuilt user interface, a new score from the composer of the original game, added voiceovers by "well-known actors," new tutorials, and more. The goal, according to Wargaming, is to deliver a game that plays like a fresh experience while remaining faithful to the classic Master of Orion games.
“As longtime fans of the Master of Orion, the opportunity to help breathe new life into this acclaimed game has been a dream come true,” Andrés Chilkowski, co-founder and CEO of NGD Studios says. “While we’ve made many improvements overall to the game, we’re confident that its classic and addictive gameplay will appeal to gamers no matter if they played the game years ago or are now just experiencing it for the very first time.”
Wargaming also released an announcement trailer for Master of Orion, which gives a nod to the original game while showing off some of the enhancements that will likely be detailed down the road. You can check out that video below.
This announcement comes after Wargaming acquired the Master of Orion IP from Atari in July, 2013. Since then, Wargaming has been relatively quiet regarding its plans for the series. The title does not currently have a release date.
Our Take
Master of Orion is undoubtedly a highly influential series, so to have it come back in a way that makes it more accessible for modern audiences should be a good thing. It's always interesting to watch how teams balance classic gameplay with modern revisions for reboots and remasters such as this, but with members of the original team working on this reboot, it will hopefully spell good things for fans of 4X gameplay.
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