dreamcatcher-games posts

After filing for bankruptcy last January, time may have run out for European game publisher JoWood. According to a report on the German language web site Boerse-Express.com, (translated by Babel Fish) JoWood has apparently not been able to bring in new investors to save the company and it looks like the publisher is going to close down.

JoWood owns a lot of major game franchises including the Gothic RPG series and the Painkiller first person shooter series. It's likely that some other publisher could buy the rights to these and other Jowood game titles. JoWood also owns Canada-based Dreamcatcher Games which it acquired in 2007. It's currently unknown if the Dreamcatcher business will also shut down alongside JoWood.

[Via Game Informer]

Troubled game publisher JoWood has put the brakes on yet another game in development. Today the company announced that the fantasy RPG-RTS expansion pack Spellforce 2: Faith In Destiny has been delayed indefinitely. The expansion pack was first announced nearly two years ago. Jowood producer Reinhard Pollice is quoted in the press release as saying that the expansion "is already in an advanced stage, but the game experience will be further enhanced in some sectors - like multiplayer stability."

Earlier this week, Jowood also delayed another expansion pack Arcania: Fall of Setarrif , due to somewhat mysterious legal issues. It was also revealed this week that the troubled publisher, which filed for bankruptcy in January, had lost the interest of a potential investor.

Publisher Jowood is still in financial dire straits after filing for bankruptcy last January. A few days ago the Austria-based web site the Austrian Independent reported that an unnamed potential investor for the company is now no longer interested. The insolvency organizer says that two more unnamed companies are still considering investing in Jowood.

Jowood, who also owns Dreamcatcher Interactive here in North America, has continued to release games even after filing for bankruptcy. However today the company announced that its RPG stand alone expansion pack Arcania: Fall of Setarrif, due for release on Friday, has been postponed until further notice.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

A few days before the game shows up in retail stores here in the US, the downloadable version of Arcania: Gothic 4 is now available to purchase and download for those living in this part of the world. You can get the open world fantasy RPG sequel from Steam. Presumably other download sites will make the game available to purchase soon.

Just a reminder; the retail version of the game from developer Spellbound and publisher Jowood/Dreamcatcher Games shipped in other parts of the world earlier this week and will ship to stores in the US on October 19.

The long-in-development PC fantasy RPG Arcania: Gothic 4 has suffered another delay in its release but this time it's just for one more week and just for the North American territory. Publisher JoWood and its US subsidiary Dreamcatcher Games have revealed that instead of an October 12 release date, the game will be coming out in the US on October 19.

The title from developer Spellbound Entertainment is still plan for an October 12 release in the rest of the world. The publisher did not say why the game was delayed just for the US market. That means Arcania: Gothic 4 will be going up against another open world RPG, Fallout: New Vegas, which also is due for release on October 19 in the US.

[Via email press release]

Download ArcaniA: Gothic 4 Demo (1.7 GB)

The subject of DRM set ups for PC games has become more and more important for consumers, as evident by the massive backlash against Ubisoft's "Always On" set up for most of its recent PC games. Today publisher JoWood decided to be pro-active by admitting its upcoming fantasy RPG Arcania: Gothic 4 will be using the SecuROM DRM set-up for the PC version.

Admitting that DRM set-ups for PC games have in the past " had to find a balance "between user friendliness and security of the product" Arcania Gothic 4 will allow gamers to install it on an unlimited number of PCs. The game will only need to be activated once via an internet connection in order to be played on a PC with no constant net connection needed to continue playing. Each license will also allow the game to be played on up to three PCs at any one time. It will also have an auto-update feature and a pre-load feature to let players download the game before its officially launched in October.

Gallery: Arcania: Gothic 4 Screenshots

The long-in-development fantasy RPG Arcania: Gothic 4 is due for release on October 12 but players will soon be able to check out a free slice of the game. Publisher JoWood and its US subsidiary Dreamcatcher Games announced that a demo for the game will be released for the PC on September 24.

The demo will let people play through the tutorial level and the first two hours of the full game as players go on some quests on the fictional Feshyr Island and deal with some rather nasty demons. The game from developer Spellbound was first announced back in 2007 and has had a number of release date delays.

Last fall's release of the first person shooter Painkiller Resurrection was ... well, "disappointing" doesn't really cover it. The game itself was short and not very engadging and the promise of a co-op mode was just that; a promise (at least until a patch was released a few months later).

Now after several months, the title from developer Homegrown Games and publisher JoWood has gotten a new update via Steam and it's actually all about content. The patch adds a new map, the Tower of Power, to the title. It's described in the patch notes as "the ULTIMATE challenge for all Painkiller enthusiasts." We think the real challenge is to find people who care about this game anymore.

Publisher JoWood and its North American subsidiary Dreamcatcher Games have just announced plans to release The Guild 2: Renaissance, a stand alone expansion pack to the historical strategy-sim game that was first released way back in 2006. This is the third expansion for the game and is due out sometime before the end of June.

Set in the 14th century just as the Middle Ages are coming to an end and the Renaissance is beginning, the game adds nine new careers, has maps that are four times the size of the original game's maps, improved AI support, and even more new features.

Fans of action fantasy role-playing games might be interested in checking out these video for ArcaniA: Gothic 4, which reveal first looks at some of the gameplay. The video above gives a glimpse of the some of the stunning environments players will experience and a video featuring the combat system is shown after the jump. The game is expected to release in the fall.

Download HD World of Arcania 'Ambiance' Trailer (68 MB)
Download HD World of Arcania 'Combat' Trailer (31 MB)
Check out all ArcaniA: Gothic 4 downloads