Having a multimedia IP is a huge deal. Every company gets a special kind of excited at the mere idea that they might be looking at the next Star Wars- a multimedia empire spanning games, movies, comics, cartoons, toys, and even theme park attractions. A good example of these are Idolmaster and Warhammer, two series that may seem very different but might actually have more in common than you think.

While not everyone might reach Star Wars level of saturation, we’ve seen more properties excel at being multimedia brands. Bandai Namco Entertainment and Bushiroad are notoriously good at these: The idol-type genre of games like Bandai Namco’s IdolMaster franchise or BanG Dream by Bushiroad have all leaned into the idea that your franchise doesn’t have to be “primarily” anything- it just needs an access point for fans to jump in and then they’ll simply move to support the brand.

While looking up “multimedia franchises” might convince you it’s a genre that’s dominated solely by Japanese idol games, that couldn’t be further from the truth- deep in a future that knows only war, Games Workshop’s Warhammer IP (including its 40k offshoot) have also seen success with the method.

Warhammer is basically one of the great grandfathers of high fantasy, especially for those who love a tinge of gothic flavoring in it. Starting out as a series of models for tabletop wargaming, the Warhammer brand exploded, most notably being known for the space fantasy Warhammer 40,000- where humanity is an intergalactic “Imperium” enforced by the now iconic Space Marines, mostly loyal to their Emperor of Mankind and set against a huge background of other races like space elf Eldar or the cosmic threat of the Tyranids. If you’d like to read more about the connection between Warhammer and IdolMaster, consider subscribing to our newsletter so you can read more about it. You can read it for free by putting your email address in the box below:

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