RPS let us know that Gas Powered Games has been bought by the Belarus developer and publisher Wargaming.net, known for its World of Tanks game.

“Gas Powered Games’ heritage and development pedigree shows us just how valuable an addition Chris and his company will make to the Wargaming family,” said Wargaming head Victor Kislyi in a statement. “Gas Powered Games has a long track record of providing incredibly engaging AAA gaming experiences and we can’t wait to start working with them.”

So far, we don’t know owt else – how much GPG cost, whether any of its exitening franchises will be resurrected, whether Wildman really is as dead as dead gets, and whether the studio can rehire any of the staff it laid off earlier this year. We do know Wargaming is taking “full ownership” of the firm, and that this includes Chris Taylor himself. His own comment on the matter was:

“Wargaming growth in recent years has been tremendous, and we’re looking forward to joining one of the fastest growing gaming companies in the world. I’m sure our experience and expertise will help us contribute even more to Wargaming’s global success.”

Hopefully it’s good news. There are all sorts of fingers that can be pointed in regard to what went on at GPG lately, but if this is a road to giving people their jobs back – and hopefully making some splendid games too – it’s something to be glad of.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has interviewed Chris Taylor about Wildman, Kickstarter and much more. It is an interesting read, although it probably was made before the decision to shut the Kickstarter Wildman campaign down.  Here's a quote about some advice he got:

The numbers were not there," he insists, eyes shifting downward. "They weren't even close. 75K on the first day. Other comparable Kickstarters have done 300k, 700k. Feargus and Obsidian made their goal in 24 hours. We were off by over an order of magnitude." "So a friend with way more experience in this business than me - 30 years - said, ‘You've got to shut the Kickstarter down. It's gonna leak that you did the layoffs, and people are gonna wonder why the Kickstarter's still going.' But another friend of mine made a really impassioned point to me. He said, ‘You know, the people who backed you are going to be super upset. They're gonna be pissed about this.'"

Here's a quote on why he doesn't want to sell his company, Gas Powered Games:

"I've been doing this a long time," he offers wearily, boisterous presence almost shrinking. "I've been fighting on the field for 15 years as an independent developer. I don't want to sell my soul. I've turned down all these opportunities to do it, and it wasn't exactly to the devil, but it wasn't a golden ticket either. I knew if I sold, I'd probably be shut down in three-to-five years. I didn't want that. I want Gas Powered Games to go on for decades. So I've been fighting and fighting and fighting."

Gas Powered Games has announced that they to are now on Kickstarter.   Their goal is to raise US dollars 1,1 millon. The game is called Wildman and is set in prehistoric setting;  it'll be a mix of the RTS and action-RPG genres. A quote that describes the game:

Imagine a game where you control a single hero-the "Wildman"-dropped into the middle of a War Zone. The battle starts. Your own army begins to engage the approaching enemy.You support your troops with your own combat abilities and skills. You shape-shift into new forms that grant you new abilities. You upgrade your armies with new technology. You construct defenses. Your opponent switches tactics; you reconfigure your army to counter. You push the enemy back to their citadel, their home base. You face your opponent's champion. You each rally your troops for support. You execute your special abilities with precision. Your opponent is devastated. You survey the battlefield: the bodies strewn on the ground, the trees burned down and smoldering, the buildings turned to rubble. You collect your rewards. You evolve. Victory is yours. For now.

Computer&videogames has posted a brief retraction from Gas Powered Games Chris Taylor concerning his recent reference to Dungeon Seige III:

  Gas Powered Games boss Chris Taylor has clarified his comments discussing what he'd like to do in Dungeon Siege 3 - which is not 'officially planned', he says.

Taylor told CVG, "When asked if we were considering taking lessons learned from Space Siege back into the Dungeon Siege series, the answer was, yes..."

But:

If the prospect of the same story-enhanced set-up in the Dungeon Siege universe sounds appealing to you, don't get to excited - because Taylor says the third game isn't happening yet.

"We have not made any official announcements, or have any official plans, but we are kicking ideas around, and that's no secret," he said.

"It would be a long time before another DS game was finished and saw the light of day..."

So, looks like Chris Taylor is adding a fantasy skin to Space Siege for Dungeon Siege III.  From Eurogamer:

Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer Germany, he said it would do away with the group focus of the previous games in favour a single hero similar to his current project Space Siege.

"There will be some things that are very much like Dungeon Siege 1 and 2, but some things will be simplified. I am done with multi-character parties; I really think that it's all going to be about a single hero. It's too much to manage," Taylor told our German network buddies.

Quoting a presentatation at the GDC 2008, gamesindustry.biz quotes some comments from Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor on where the company formerly known for their action rpg and strategy titles is headed next:

Speaking during an invite-only lunch at GDC this week, Taylor revealed the Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander team wants to reach those currently playing games like PopCap's Peggle.

"I'm curious about how to get a game out to the 200 million people that have been downloading Peggle and all of these 'match three' games. That's what I'm going after. I've been cooking something up," he said.

"Those [users] want something a lot more sophisticated but as simple. We can't complicate simplicity. It's the idea that depth and complexity are not directly linked. And if something's simple, its not boring," he added.

Well, there you go.  The new IP that Gas Powered Games signed with Sega a little while ago turns out to be Dungeon Siege in Space:

Chris Taylor’s Gas Powered Games and SEGA Team Up to Create a Spiritual Successor to the Critically Acclaimed Dungeon Siege Series for the PC

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (July 6, 2007) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the development of Space Siege™ for the PC. Developed by Gas Powered Games, SEGA has tapped Chris Taylor’s creative prowess to create this engaging action-RPG title. Space Siege features a deep and compelling storyline, intense combat and a dynamic character development system. Space Siege is scheduled to ship for the PC in North America and Europe in Q1 of 2008.

Space Siege takes place in the confines of the Armstrong, one of the few remaining colonization ships carrying the last bastions of human civilization after a devastating attack on Earth from an unknown alien race. Players will take the role of Seth Walker, a cybernetics engineer suddenly thrust into a struggle to save humanity from extermination. As the adventure progresses Seth is offered opportunities to sacrifice pieces of his humanity for cybernetic upgrades that will assist him in his mission to preserve the human race. But what price will he pay to save his own humanity? Only the player can decide Seth’s ultimate fate.

“Chris Taylor and his talented team at Gas Powered Games are recognized as leading innovators in the industry,” said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. “Space Siege promises to be a compelling and innovative successor to the very popular Dungeon Siege franchise.”

Incorporating innovative cybernetic augmentations into its storyline, Space Siege explores the dilemmas faced while keeping one’s humanity in the face of adversity. Cybernetic augmentations can be performed on every part of Seth’s body. On the extreme end, players will be able to outfit Seth with cybernetic upgrades that will leave little or none of his original humanity intact. But this choice comes with the risk of alienating Seth from the people he’s trying to save. Players can also insist on preserving Seth’s humanity by not using upgrades, instead forging ahead clearing the Armstrong of its alien invaders with natural human ingenuity and strength. Such a decision will increase the difficulty of completing his mission of uncovering and eliminating the alien menace that’s bent on destroying the human race.

Space Siege features a dynamic storyline based upon the decisions the player makes throughout the course of the game. Based upon the cybernetic modifications the player chooses to make on Seth’s body, NPC’s will react and interact with the player differently and, ultimately, different story resolutions will be reached. Space Siege will feature a separate immersive co-op multiplayer mode allowing up to four players to create and experience a completely unique mission structure.

For more information on the game, please visit www.sega.com/spacesiege. Space Siege is also featured on the cover of PC Gamer Magazine’s September 2007 issue. Screenshots and artwork can be found on the SEGA FTP site at http://segapr.segaamerica.com/.

News via Shack that Gas Powered Games has signed up with Sega for a PC RPG based on a new property - although absolutely no other details are provided:

Sega of America today announced that it has signed a deal with Gas Powered Games, the studio known for the Dungeon Siege series and Supreme Commander, to publish the company's next PC role playing game. The game will be based on a new property.

"SEGA is continuing its march forward in building a strong western developed portfolio of games," said COO Simon Jeffery of Sega of America, Inc. "Partnering with well established and visionary game creators such as Chris Taylor and his talented group of at Gas Powered Games aligns perfectly with our strategy." Added Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games, "Our focus at Gas Powered Games is to create exciting and visually stunning new worlds coupled with revolutionary game play experiences and we see SEGA as the perfect partner in achieving that goal for our next original RPG."

Based on the success of Dungeon Siege, you'd have to bet on an action/RPG. 

Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor has joined Warren Spector (and others) with a PC State of Play interview at CVG.  Here's a sample:

In what areas do you think the PC gaming scene needs to develop, and as a developer what efforts are you making to move it in that direction?

Chris Taylor: That clear challenge for the PC (and honestly, for all platforms) is to come up with new and compelling designs which takes players to someplace new. We can't just keep making the same old games with incremental improvements in the graphics. It's back to evolution vs. revolution, and we are either a) on the brink of a revolution, or b) need to start one. As a developer we "chip away" on this challenge each time we develop a game. Our strategy is to develop something that is both exciting to the "gamer" and that also has financial viability to it on the business side. This is an ongoing challenge, but a challenge we are up to and are working to solve.

With its fall release drawing nearer, 2K Games recently brought by the latest work-in-progress version of Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony, to show this action role-playing game for the PSP. Throne of Agony is, of course, based on the Dungeon Siege series found on the PC, and series creator Gas Powered Games is serving in a consulting role with Supervillain, which is handling the development duties on the PSP game. As you'd expect, Throne of Agony will feature plenty of hack-and-slash dungeon-crawling, but we were able to learn more about the character class system and get a look at the beautiful locales you'll battle through.