Fatshark Games recently released Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, a cooperative first-person shooter, the first to be set in the End Times of the Warhammer Fantasy universe.
Within that universe, players assume the roles of five heroes tasked with the defense of Ubersreik, a town of the Empire, where they take on the Skaven, a race of giant rat-men.
The game - available for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One platforms - is the first to be powered by Autodesk's new Stingray engine. Throughout the game, players navigate tremendous cityscapes, which illustrate Stingray capabilities, including AI pathfinding, rendering, effects, and more.
Here, CGW Chief Editor Karen Moltenbrey discusses the work on this amazing title with various designers, artists, and leads at Fatshark.
Tell me about your vision for this game.
Anders De Geer, game director: The vision with Vermintide was to create a melee-heavy game where players have to work as a team to make progress and where groups of players challenge themselves to clear levels at harder difficulties.
The visual goal with Vermintide was to bring players into the Warhammer world in a way that no one had seen before. We wanted to make sure that players feel every aspect of the world, from walking down a cobblestone street in Ubersreik, to planting an axe in the head of a Skaven. Everything had to feel true to the lore and be believable.
What kinds of characters and environments are there?
De Geer: In Vermintide, players assume the role of one of five heroes, all with district agendas, personalities, and backgrounds. These include the Witch Hunter (rapier-wielding and chaos-hating old man), the Waywatcher (mysterious and lethal wood elf), the Empire Soldier (powerful and grizzled war veteran), the Dwarf Ranger (loud and social to a flaw), and the Bright Wizard (crazy pyromaniac old lady). Each of these heroes has his or her own distinct arsenals, where some weapons focus on precision while others cause more widespread damage.
Throughout the course of the game, these heroes are taken through 13 missions set in a multitude of locations: the top of the Tower of Magnus, the bowels of the Skaven Under Empire, and the eerie Garden of Morr.
What role do the cities play in the game?
Joakim Setterberg, design manager: Vermintide is played in and near the Empire city of Ubersreik, acting as setting, playground, and backdrop to the events and stories of the game. Being Warhammer enthusiasts ourselves, we did extensive research on the story, architecture, and visual style of the city. With artists and designers working together with Games Workshop experts and writers, we strived to make the city and its surroundings true to both the universe and its many fans - from the large landmarks, map layout, and city environments to the smaller details, like the finer aspects of Empire construction or naming a street after a prominent figure.
How would you describe the gameplay?
Victor Magnuson, game designer: Fast-paced, first-person melee and ranged combat, with a heavy emphasis on gritty melee combat. We put a lot of effort into making each impact feel rewarding and gratifying to ensure that the feedback when hitting an enemy felt right. Combine this with a heavy reliance on teamwork and you have Vermintide.
What about the visual effects?
Isak Berg, VFX artist: The main focus for effects was gameplay feedback : mainly blood, fire impacts , and screen -space effects.
Was Stingray used exclusives on the game?
Mikael Hansson, lead animator/technical artist: We used Stingray exclusively in the production of Vermintide.
Why did you decide to use Stingray?
Hansson: We chose to use Stingray as we are very comfortable working with the engine since our days with it when it was called Bitsquid. We also already had a lot of our systems and workflows tailored for the Stingray engine and workflows. The Stingray engine is data-driven and enables fast iteration .
What advantages did Stingray give you that you couldn't get from another engine?
Hansson: One major advantage is that Stingray is a very flexible engine that allows us to tailor it to our workflows and needs. Stingray also comes with additional first- and third-party integrations that were vital to developing Vermintide. Tools like Autodesk Navigation and Audiokinetic's Wwise have helped us achieve our goals within AI and sound design.
Tell us more about Stingray's rendering capabilities and what they allowed you to achieve on this project.
Hansson: Stingray now features a state-of-the-art physically-based rendering pipeline. We have fully benefited from and used all the new rendering and lighting features added to Stingray since we first started the project. With the very flexible rendering pipeline, we've also been able to add to and modify the rendering pipeline to suit our needs.
With a physically-based rendering pipeline, our artists have adopted a new way of thinking about content production. Artists now have a common framework and guidelines to what the correct' values are to re-create a specific material. This helps all artists stay more in line with the rest of the content produced and with the art style we set out to achieve.
This also helps a lot with our lighting, as balanced content is a big key to allowing the lighting to do its job correctly.
How was your experience with Stingray's UI?
Hansson: We've used the latest rendering and core engine features in Stingray but have not yet used the actual Stingray tool set in the production of Vermintide. We were already in production well before Stingray was released, and the new tools were at a level that could be usable in production, so we chose to keep using the old tool set we were used to working with.
We have, however, kept up-to-date with the new tool set and workflows and are very eager
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Fatshark Games recently released Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, a cooperative first-person shooter, the first to be set in the End Times of the Warhammer Fantasy universe. 
