Privateer Press is a

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

miniature wargame A miniature wargame is a type of wargame in which military units are represented by Miniature model (gaming), miniature physical models on a model battlefield. Miniature wargames are played using Toy soldier, model soldiers, vehicles, and arti ...

acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Dep ...

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

and

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

production and publishing studio. Privateer Press is based in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

, United States, where they have their headquarters and American factory/distribution center. They have also licensed a factory in the United Kingdom to increase production capacity for worldwide markets. The company's signature products are

Warmachine ''Warmachine'' is a tabletop steampunk wargame originally produced by Privateer Press but currently under the ownership of Steamforged Games. The game is played with white metal, plastic, and resin miniatures representing military character ...

and Hordes, tabletop miniatures-based war games with a

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

/magical aesthetic. Noted webcomic creators and game critics

Jerry Holkins Jerry Holkins (born Parkinson"Holkins is a combination of Holcomb (hers) and Parkinson (mine)." https://twitter.com/TychoBrahe/status/12073336701 on February 6, 1976) is an American writer. He is the co-creator and writer of the webcomic '' Penny ...

and

Mike Krahulik Michael Krahulik (; born September 25, 1977) is an American artist for the webcomic '' Penny Arcade'' and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker ...

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

are fans of Warmachine. Privateer Press used to publish a house magazine called No Quarter.

History

In 2000, Matt Wilson and his friend Brian Snoddy formed Privateer Press with writer Matt Staroscik to publish their own d20 supplements. Mike McVey joined the partnership early on as Miniatures Director. Wilson and Snoddy produced the covers and interior art for Privateer's first Iron Kingdoms adventures published in 2001. The company is currently owned by Wilson due to the departure of Snoddy and McVey. Privateer next published '' Warmachine: Prime'' (2003), a miniatures wargame taking place in the same Iron Kingdoms setting as the company's first five role-playing game supplements it had already published. In 2009 Privateer partnered with WhiteMoon Dreams to create an adaptation of ''Warmachine'' for video game consoles. On October 20, 2017, Privateer Press created Black Anchor Heavy Industries, an in-house production team to create huge based models while limiting production costs. In September 2018 after 12 years of publication Privateer Press announced it would be ending publication of their bi-monthly magazine, "No Quarter". In June 2024, Privateer Press sold the Warmachine, Formula P3, and Iron Kingdoms brands to Steamforged Games.

Products

The company's products are distinguished by the quality of their art, production values, and game play. They have received many game industry awards, including six

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

s and numerous ENnies.

List of titles

*'' Formula P3 (Privateer Press Paint)'' acrylic paint *''Privateer Press Masterworks'' painted statues *'' Iron Kingdoms''

fantasy universe **''Iron Kingdoms Role-Playing Games'' **''Iron Kingdoms Adventure Board Games (2 Titles - Undercity and Widower's wood)'' **''

'' & '' Hordes'' miniature wargames **''Grind'' miniature sports game **'' High Command'' deck-building card games **'' Riot quest'' miniature skirmish board game in alternate timeline to the Warmachine post Obllivion event **'' Warcaster neo-mechanika'' high-speed miniatures game *'' Bodgers'' family board and card games **'' Zombies Keep Out'' **'' BodgerMania'' **'' Heap'' **'' Infernal Contraption'' **'' Scrappers'' *'' Level 7'' science-fiction board games **''Level 7 scape' **''Level 7 mega Protocol' **''Level 7 nvasion' *'' Monsterpocalypse'' collectible miniatures game **'' Monsterpocalypse: Voltron'' licensed standalone set

Charitable contributions

The company has been a longtime supporter of Child's Play, a charity which gives toys and games to sick children in children's hospitals around the world. In 2009, Privateer Press bid on and won an item at the annual Child's Play Holiday auction, donated by

Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bein ...

, which brought them the rights to commission a downloadable song track for the ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' video game. The resulting song "Warmachine," written by Jerry Holkins, premiered at Pax 2010 and was made available for download that fall. All proceeds from the track are also donated to Child's Play.

References

External links

Privateer Press official websiteWarmachine song on Rockband
{{Authority control Role-playing game publishing companies Game manufacturers Companies established in 2000 Companies based in Seattle * Gaming miniatures companies