In March 2013, Playdek announced that their longtime partnership with Stone Blade Entertainment would be ending in June 2014 (this month) and that Stone Blade would be taking back their Ascension license and launching their own Ascension Online service that would be cross-platform instead of just for iOS.
Stone Blade proceeded to launch a very successful Kickstarter Campaign for the project which raise over $184k, and had an estimated delivery date of rewards set for December 2013. However over the last year we’ve heard surprisingly little regarding the new Ascension Online service while Stone Blade seemed to focus on expanding their SolForge property instead.
In that same time Playdek continued to release their promised Ascension expansions and support their existing iOS version like it was business as usual. However instead of Playdek’s iOS version of Ascension going away, a new deal has been reached with Stone Blade Entertainment and Playdek “will continue to develop mobile and video games based on the popular board game series, including creating versions of the game for Android, PC and additional platforms”.
The in-app expansion Ascension: Rise of Vigil which was originally slated for a June release will now launch a little later this summer for iOS and Ascension itself will launch shortly thereafter for the first time on Android, at which point Android users will also be able to purchase ALL of the expansions previously available to iOS users.
Ascension is a great property and we are so pleased to work with Stone Blade Entertainment again,” said Joel Goodman, CEO, Playdek. “We thank our loyal fans for standing by us and always strive to bring them the best possible gaming experience. Now with Android and PC versions in the works, we can offer Ascension to even more fans on the platform they prefer.
What about the people who supported that Kickstarter Campaign?
Playdek has released a statement saying that “they will continue to host online play through its multi-featured cross-platform system and will work with Stone Blade to fulfill digital Kickstarter rewards for Ascension Online.”
In fact, a lengthy update was posted to the Kickstarter Campain earlier today informing backers of the news. It also includes a nice FAQ that should answer a lot of those burning questions that you probably have.
Playdek recently released a well-received Android version of Summoner Wars and they are about to wrap up a super successful Kickstarter campaign for a digital release of Twilight Struggle, which will be available on iOS, Android, PC and consoles, so their cross-platform expertise is growing and I think it was a good idea for Stone Blade to keep the franchise in Playdek’s very capable (and experienced) hands.
