FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HALF MOON BAY, CA January 29, 2015 – Rod Humble, the former head of EA Play label which boasted such games as The Sims ® 2 & 3, today revealed details behind Cults & Daggers, a sprawling and complex strategy game set in the Hellenistic era between the death of Buddha and the birth of Christ. Developed and published by Chaphat LLC, the PC & Mac game is launching on Steam on February 12 for $29.99.
As the Old Gods plot to destroy a planet they can no longer rule, you are tasked with creating your own religious faith to fight a secret war for the soul of the world. Recruit loyal disciples throughout the Mediterranean in order to spread your faith by preaching to the masses and converting noble families. Along the way, you’ll have to deal with spies, assassinations, martyrs, occult forces, prophets and blasphemers, all while battling the Old Gods and other rising cults for the hearts and minds of the world.
“With Cults & Daggers, I sought to explore beyond the traditional strategy game model of ‘build and fight’, and offer up a more cerebral experience,” said Humble, CEO of Chaphat. “At the same time, I wanted players to challenge themselves by navigating the chaotic web created by corruption, religious avarice and betrayal as rival factions vie for power.”
Exciting features of Cults & Daggers include:
• Secretly manipulate the rise and fall of great cities throughout 400 years of history
• Gain influence by building temples, performing sacrifices, preaching, recruiting noble families, etc.
• Weaken opponents through blasphemy, assassination, robbery and subversion
• Destroy evil places of power to thwart the Old Gods and earn grand rewards
• Disciple skills include teaching, killing, hiding, performing spells & curses, preaching and more!
• Carefully manage your religion’s Faith and Hope levels in order to gain power and influence
• Spend Faith and Occult to cast spells, and bring curses and miracles to the world
• Extensive Single player with procedurally generated disciples and city data
• Multiplayer for up to 4 via Multiplayer Hot Seat and Play-By-E-Mail (PBEM)
• Procedurally generated technology tree and adventure system
• In-depth modeled spying system allows for deep subterfuge
• Game includes free Cults & Daggers ambient music album
About Chaphat
Established in 2014, Chaphat was founded by renowned video game executive Rod Humble, and specializes in creating unique interactive games, music and art. The company’s first title, Cults & Daggers, is an ancient religion-themed strategy game set for release on the PC & Mac in February 2015 via Steam.
Prior to starting Chaphat, Mr. Humble served as the Chief Executive Officer of Second Life creator Linden Lab, where he spearheaded the vision to expand and diversify the company’s product portfolio. Prior to his work at Linden Lab, he served as Executive Vice President of the EA Play label of Electronic Arts and oversaw the best-selling PC game franchise of all-time, The Sims.
Humble’s 25-year career in game development includes work on more than 200 games and in 2009 he was ranked #2 on the annual list of the “ Hot 100 Game Developers” from gaming publication, Edge. Prior to his work at Electronic Arts, Humble served as Vice President of Product Development at Sony Online Entertainment for one of the first successful, massively multiplayer online games (MMOG), EverQuest.