The company's signature products are Warmachine and Hordes, tabletop miniatures-based war games with a steampunk/magical aesthetic. Noted webcomic creators and game critics Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade are fans of Warmachine.[2] Privateer Press used to publish a house magazine called No Quarter.[3]
History
In 2000, Matt Wilson and his friend Brian Snoddy formed Privateer Press with writer Matt Staroscik to publish their own d20 supplements.[1][4]: 392 Mike McVey joined the partnership early on as Miniatures Director.[citation needed] Wilson and Snoddy produced the covers and interior art for Privateer's first Iron Kingdoms adventures published in 2001.[4]: 392 The company is currently owned by Wilson due to the departure of Snoddy and McVey.[citation needed]
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.[4]: 392 In 2009 Privateer partnered with WhiteMoon Dreams to create an adaptation of Warmachine for video game consoles.[4]: 393
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.[5]
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.[6]
Products
The company's products are distinguished by the quality of their art, production values, and game play.[7] They have received many game industry awards, including six Origins Awards[8][9] and numerous ENnies.[10][11]
The company has been a longtime supporter of Child's Play, a charity which gives toys and games to sick kids 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, which brought them the rights to commission a downloadable song track for the Rock Band 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.[12][13][14]
