Man, I love War Machine. It’s the only tabletop game that allows me to play as a faction of undead steam punk robot pirates. Yes, that really is a faction in the game. Unfortunately, I’ve struggled to find people to play this game with, and in recent years, I’ve struggled to find any models from the Iron Kingdoms. But all that is about to change.

The Iron Kingdoms are now moving from ownership by Privateer Press to Steamforged Games, a leading UK tabletop games studio and publisher.

“This project is a perfect, logical fit for us. Almost every aspect of Steamforged’s history can be traced back to Warmachine in some way or another,” says Rich Loxam, CEO and Founder of Steamforged. “Both Mat Hart and I are Warmachine players, and Warmachine was actually a key inspiration for us creating Guild Ball, with its incredible world and well-designed gameplay. We couldn’t be more excited to bring our experience and infrastructure to the table to take Warmachine into its next era.”

Mat Hart, CCO and Founder of Steamforged, says:

“There’s a real wealth of creative talent and, as you might expect, genuine passion for tabletop gaming in our team. In particular, we all share a special kind of love for Warmachine and the Iron Kingdoms. That, along with our expertise in creating games loved by many, makes us ideally placed to collaborate with Privateer Press in shaping the future of a hugely important franchise. There’s a profound sense of duty to nurture its growth and potential, and we take that responsibility seriously. We cannot wait for what’s to come for the players in this wonderful world.”

“We couldn’t have asked for better custodians than Steamforged,” says Matt Wilson, CCO and Founder of Privateer Press. “Their track record, history with the games, and genuine excitement about the future make them the perfect fit to shepherd Warmachine and the Iron Kingdoms into the future, opening up new opportunities and growth channels for all Iron Kingdoms titles. We look forward to working with Steamforged in the years to come.”

If you have never heard of the Iron Kingdoms, I will try and fill you in. The steampunk Iron Kingdoms setting was initially seen in publications by Privateer Press. It was an adventure trilogy consisting of The Longest Night (2001), Shadow of the Exile (2001) and The Legion of the Lost (2001), which was supplemented by the concurrent adventure Fool’s Errand (2001) published only in PDF.

This eventually moved on to two more Iron Kingdoms books the next year, the character primer Lock & Load (2002) and monster book The Monsternomicon (2002), and also stated they would publish a full Iron Kingdoms campaign setting book.

Then came War Machine, a tabletop miniature version of the Iron Kingdoms. Same setting. Just this time, it was a tabletop miniature game.Battles are fought between warcasters from rival nations, the large steam-powered warjacks that the warcasters control, and troops consisting of humans and fantasy races.

After War Machine came Hordes. Hordes is very similar to War Machine, only instead of steampunk Robots it’s Warlocks controlling Monsters. There are Trolls, Druids, terrifying mutant Elves, and the Skorne who just terrify me.

As well as all these, there are books and also a video game on Steam.

It’s a fascinating setting and definitely worth checking out. If you are looking for a good game to play, I suggest checking it out.