Though THQ may be dead and gone, Relic Entertainment, recently acquired by SEGA, isn't… and neither is Company of Heroes.
In a letter to the Company of Heroes community, Relic Producer Greg Wilson explained that it would continue to support Company of Heroes through Steamworks. "As many of you are aware our current online system is underpinned by middleware from a company called Quazal," he wrote.
"In 2010 Quazal was purchased by Ubisoft. At that time we weren’t sure what that meant for our online service, but obviously we were concerned that something would change. We performed an assessment of what it would take to remove Quazal and switch to Steamworks (which was working in our DOW2 series), but due to a combination of various things, that switch wasn’t approved."
Essentially, the service Relic was using to support Company of Heroes is being shut down. In order to finally make the transition to Steamworks, Relic is partnering up with Smoking Gun Interactive, a studio that consists of many Company of Heroes vets.
The old service is set to shut down May 7. Though Relic is already making preparations for the transition, not all online options may be available at the start. However, the developers promise to bring the full arsenal of features in time.
Company of Heroes 2, which is set for release on June 25, will also be given Steamworks support. More launch details regarding the sequel will be given in good time.
