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How Developer Fatshark Created Their Passion Project in Vermintide 2

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a passion project developed by Fatshark, a studio which was formed ten years ago in Stockholm, Sweden. Over the years, Fatshark has built a solid foundation in the online multiplayer genre. Many of the core team members first met through tabletop gaming and it was during these late nights playing Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay that the foundation of the Vermintide franchise was formed.

Six years after Fatshark was founded – and six released titles later – the studio had the financial means, tech and developers to take on the rich and very visual Warhammer universe. It was a no-brainer; this was something we had always wanted to do. After lengthy and sometimes heated internal discussions, we made a pitch to Games Workshop, the developer and custodian of the Warhammer world. We proposed a game where players in co-op with others would take on the role as one of the many iconic heroes of the Old World and take on hordes of enemies in frenzied first-person melee action combat.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 Feature Screenshot

Since we wanted to pay homage to a game world enjoyed and experienced by so many for so long, we knew there would be no shortcuts when it came to character presentation, art style and attention to detail. Games Workshop agreed, and Vermintide went from idea to production.

Expanding the Boundaries of our Tech

Fatshark has always had strong technology, for example having developed the in-house game engine Bitsquid/Stingray which was licensed to others and eventually sold to Autodesk. Therefore, it is perhaps no surprise that our work to take Vermintide 2 to Xbox One is just as much engineer pride as lore nerdery. The joy of getting your tech to tune in and make wonders on the hardware is just as great as when you get to shake hands with long-time fans of Warhammer telling you “you nailed it”.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 Feature Screenshot

Vermintide 2 on Xbox Game Pass

For the second game in the franchise, Vermintide 2, we decided to work with Microsoft to make the title available on Xbox Game Pass on the same day as the release. For an indie developer — self-publishing a multiplayer game with a limited marketing budget — it’s key to have a strong player base and raise awareness of the title through word of mouth. Xbox Game Pass offers exactly that.

Even after release of the game, the whole Fatshark team is working on Vermintide 2 and will support the game just like we did with the first installment in the series. Events, DLC and existing content are all in the making!

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MixPlay and Streaming Support

Vermintide 2 is very much about experiencing bravery and epic battles together with others, either with the players in your party, your streaming audience and through community events.

But our efforts for social gaming don’t end there. Through the Vermintide 2 MixPlay feature on Mxier, streamers can let their audience decide the battle’s outcome by voting live on what the next enemy spawn should be or reward players with potions and bombs. This makes for new and tricky situations where the players must fight tooth and nail to survive the mission with their audience pulling the strings behind the curtain.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 Feature Screenshot

How to Play Vermintide 2 Effectively

Vermintide 2 is a 4-player co-op action game designed to be played together with friends. A key component in the game is the challenge it provides. We have included 4 levels of difficulty to up the stakes as you improve your skill, starting with lowest to highest: Recruit, Veteran, Champion and Legend. The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward will be at the end of a successful mission. Check out some tips and tricks here.

Join the Fight for Survival

We are in this for the long run with the first major DLC of Vermintide 2 coming soon and more in the making. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to check out Vermintide 2, live now on Xbox Game Pass!