Renegade Kid reclaims the rights to Dementium
UPDATE: Developer says it "will be exploring all possibilities" to continuing the franchise.
UPDATE 17/09/2014 5.19am: Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham offered Eurogamer the following statement in regards to Dementium's future:
"We're very excited about having Dementium return home. We will be exploring all possibilities, including sequels and ports, and we're open to the idea of working with a publishing partner or going solo. We haven't ruled it out, but we do not currently plan to do a Dementium kickstarter campaign. It is pretty great to have these options with a brand that both our loyal fear-loving fans and us love so dearly, and so dreadfully. The team is really looking forward to lose their minds again in the blood-soaked corridors of Dementium."
ORIGINAL STORY 17/09/2014 4.33pm: Back in April Dementium developer Renegade Kid launched a Kickstarter for a horror game called Cult County. The campaign was something of a disaster with it failing to reach even 10 per cent of its goal. There's numerous reasons why, but arguably one of the biggest would be the lack of name recognition. Renegade was known for Dementium (along with Mutant Mudds and Moon). People wanted another Dementium. Renegade Kid was even quite open about the fact that it wanted to make another Dementium. Only there was one problem: it didn't own the rights to Dementium.
Until now.
Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham made the announcement earlier today on Twitter. "I am ecstatic to announce that Renegade Kid now has the rights to create Dementium sequels! EXCITE!!" he wrote.
"Dementium sequels were tied up with previous publisher. But, no more!" he added.
Previously, the IP had been held by SouthPeak, while Memetic Games developed an HD Steam version of Dementium 2.
This isn't the first time Renegade Kid has reclaimed the rights to one of its earlier properties. Earlier this year it acquired the rights to its DS first-person shooter Moon, which it then remade on 3DS as the episodic Moon Chronicles.
We're not sure what Renegade Kid will do with these rights now that it has them. Will it go the Moon route and re-release it on modern platforms with spruced up graphics? Or will it set up a Kickstarter ala Cult County? Perhaps it will use the series' clout to attract an established publisher? I've asked Watsham about this and will update if he can shed any light on the studio's plans for the series.