The fate of Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising has been in question ever since the MMO was put on hold due to developer Perpetual Entertainment's financial troubles. With Perpetual out of the picture, Heatwave Interactive has swooped in to acquire the game and the source code license to the online game publishing technology, PlayGrid Platform. Heatwave also picked up two game development engines - these two engines had been designed for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising and Star Trek Online at Perpetual and will now be the basis for Heatwave's roster of MMOs.
“Heatwave’s philosophy is to identify and develop world class IP, and we believe the project is just that,” said Anthony Castoro, co-founder and CEO, Heatwave Interactive. “With this acquisition Heatwave greatly expands its core development capabilities as well as adding a well-known, award-winning title to its expanding intellectual property portfolio. This game hits the Heatwave ‘HIP’ mark in terms of its social gaming features and the intrinsic entertainment value found in its mythological storyline, high action adventure and beautiful art style.”
“The Perpetual team built high quality engines and a very robust and easy-to-use platform. Through this transaction with PlayGrid we secure all the necessary components needed to not only complete this game but also to operate our entire portfolio of online games on one platform,” added Donn Clendenon, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Heatwave Interactive. “This world-class online platform technology will allow us to reduce both development costs and time to market.”
“We at PlayGrid are thrilled to see Rome rise again with the Heatwave team,” said Chris McKibbin, co-founder, PlayGrid, and former president, Perpetual Entertainment. “Gods and Heroes was designed for both core and casual MMO players alike and Heatwave is one of the few studios with the talent and experience to fulfill this vision while delivering a final version that will fit with what today’s gamers are looking for. We are also thrilled that Heatwave has chosen to license the PlayGrid Platform to solve their game operating needs."
God & Heroes had been in closed beta when production was halted in 2007. Now, in addition to Gods & Heroes, Heatwave said it's "focused on incubating its diverse and marketable roster of intellectual properties that have cross-media entertainment potential."
