Unannounced Warhammer ARPG Made with UE5 Reportedly Canceled

While Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 celebrated its successful launch in September 2024, an unannounced title set in the Warhammer universe may have been canceled around that time. 

According to what was spotted by MP1st, a Warhammer RPG developed by Thought Pennies studio had been canceled due to funding issues. The resumes of previous developers, whose work at the studio ended mostly in September or November, revealed that an unannounced Warhammer title was in the works before they left. 

Gathering the information they mentioned in their duties, we could picture its basic outline: a fantasy live-service RPG created with Unreal Engine 5. One specifically said it was a third-person "Co-Op PvE Action RPG with a cast of unique heroes and playstyles." The project development could have started around August 2022 or even earlier.

Thought Pennies was founded in 2020 by its CEO, Tim Ernst, who had worked on Final Fantasy XV and Star Wars games and had rich experience in "games-as-a-service." 

From a post by its CCO Daniel Erickson shared on LinkedIn, the change of strategic direction of the publisher (whose name was not mentioned) had resulted in their previous project without funding and layoffs. The studio’s information on LinkedIn shows the total headcount in the past 6 months dropped by 52%, which could be around 30 employees, as the team was nearly 60 people. 

Since the project was never officially announced by the studio or the IP-owner Games Workshop, our knowledge about the canceled title might be unlikely to extend much more. It is also unclear whether development could resume if new funding sources are found.