Not so long ago, World War 2 shooters were all the rage. There were so many of them, in fact, that there was a glut in the market, and people got sick of them. Then Modern Warfare came along, was a huge success, and everyone shifted their settings to the modern day, to capitalize on its success. Eventually, the modern day setting began to be worn out, but no one obvious candidate arose as a replacement- while some, including Call of Duty itself, pushed for a futuristic setting, others looked back to the past.
For instance, last year’s Battlefield 1 was a World War 1 era shooter- it was hugely successful, however. Maybe that’s what given Square Enix the confidence to go ahead and back Battalion 1944, a World War 2 era shooter by Bulkhead Interactive that they will be publishing and bringing to the market.
“From having partnered with Bulkhead before on the hugely successful The Turing Test, we know they’re a very talented studio making great games,” said Phil Elliott, Director of Community & Indie Development at Square Enix. “We trust Joe and the team as we know what they’re capable of and we see them actively listening to their community. Our relationship is built on a foundation of minimum publisher interference with maximum support where needed. We’ll help nurture and grow the community while Bulkhead can focus on crafting a fantastic FPS experience with Battalion 1944.”
Hopefully, Square puts some proper marketing muscle behind this game- they’re usually good about promoting indie games that they are publishing (see also: just how well they backed Life Is Strange), but one can never be too sure with major publishers.