A phoenix is a mythological firebird that is periodically reborn from its own ashes, a symbol of cyclical renewal. It's also, according to several former employees of Chorus developers Fishlabs in Hamburg, an internal title for the massive cost-cutting project begun by Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group in June 2023.
The current incarnation of a bewildering series of mergers, renamings and acquisitions that date back to the founding of Nordic Games in 2004, Embracer have spent much of the past decade buying up video game studios and licenses, from Deus Ex developers Eidos Montreal to the adaptation rights for The Lords Of The Rings. According to a February 2023 earnings report, by the end of December 2022 the conglomerate had 134 internal studios on the books (including table-top developers) and owned or controlled over 850 IPs, with 224 games in development. Our Graham warned of the perils of such consolidation in 2019, and his misgivings have been borne out. Following the reported collapse of a billion dollar Savvy Games investment deal, Embracer set out to recover their debts by cancelling projects, laying off staff and closing whole studios. Fishlabs - acquired by Embracer in 2018 alongside their parent company Koch Media, nowadays Plaion - were among those burned by "Project Phoenix", first losing a dozen people in September 2023, and then around half their remaining workforce in November. In the process of these reductions, Embracer also binned off two video game projects – a sumptuous sci-fi metroidvania that was in full development, and a "visual prototype" for a brand new Red Faction game.
]]>Former Microsoft senior PR manager Brad Hilderbrand has blogged about the recent closure of Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, making a familiar case that Microsoft’s gaming division are now expected “to cut expenses to the bone” in the wake of the wildly expensive acquisition of Activision Blizzard and amid slowing growth of the Game Pass subscription business. In Hilderbrand’s view, Game Pass will likely never be sustainable or profitable. Microsoft’s only chance on this front, he says, is “to put all the world's biggest games on the service” – namely, Call of Duty, which still earns hundreds of millions annually in direct sales, or GTA 6, which, hahahaha.
]]>Like us, you’re probably still reeling from Tuesday’s news that Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango and Prey’s Arkane Austin are getting shuttered by Microsoft. According to Bloomberg, these closures were just a part of a “widespread cost-cutting initiative” that’s still underway. All signs point towards more cuts to come, basically. ZeniMax studios seem to be the main target.
]]>Earlier today, megacorp Embracer announced they were selling Borderlands developer Gearbox to Take-Two. During an investor call about the divestment, CEO Lars Wingefors confirmed that this brought an end to the restructuring process Embracer announced last year. He was also asked whether this meant Embracer had plans to start acquiring other studios again.
Wingefors said it was "way too early" to restart "the M&A engines."
]]>Embracer have announced that they're selling Borderlands developers Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive, owners of 2K Games and GTA 6 developers Rockstar, for $460 million in Take-Two shares. Three Gearbox Software studios - the flagship studio in Texas, together with Gearbox Montréal and Gearbox Quebec - will change hands as part of the deal. Take-Two will also acquire the Borderlands and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands franchises, together with Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem.
Embracer will keep and rename Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, previously known as Perfect World Entertainment. They're also hanging onto Cryptic Studios, who went through a round of layoffs in November, together with their MMOs Neverwinter Online and Star Trek Online. They're also clinging onto Borderlands 3 support studio Lost Boys Interactive, who went through a round of layoffs in January, plus 3D scanning and reconstruction outfit Captured Dimensions. Last but not least, they'll keep the publishing rights to the Remnant series, Hyper Light Breaker and "other notable unannounced game releases".
]]>Saber Interactive have parted ways with Embracer Group, buying back the rights to both themselves and numerous other studios in a deal initially valued at $247 million. The deal includes 38 ongoing game development projects plus the rights to 3D Realms, Slipgate Ironworks, New World Interactive, Nimble Giant, Mad Head, Digic, Fractured Byte and PR agency Sandbox Strategies, as well as Metro developers 4A Games and Pinball FX maker Zen Studios via options.
]]>Tencent Holdings - the biggest videogame company in the world - are looking to buy Dungeons & Dragons off Hasbro, with Baldur's Gate 3 creators Larian serving as an intermediary. Or maybe not. The above claim surfaced yesterday, while everybody was going nuts about Hideo Kojima's latest shenanigans, and has swiftly been shot down by Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, originator of all things D&D that haven't been created by D&D's vast and imaginative modding, fanshipping and spin-off-making communities. Curious.
]]>It's hard to know where to begin with this, but let's just rip the plaster off and get it over with. Reedpop have today announced that they're "investigating the potential sale" of RPS owners Gamer Network. This also includes our friends at Eurogamer, VG247, Dicebreaker, and GamesIndustry.biz. Not included in the sale are UK events EGX or MCM, or the website Popverse. There's not a lot more I can say at this stage - we ourselves still have lots of questions that need answering first - but I'll endeavour to share more with you, our readers, as soon as I can. For now, here's the broad strokes of what's happening.
]]>Microsoft have finally, finally, finally bought Activision Blizzard after many months of haggling with regulators in several countries. The total figure for the company behind Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone, to say nothing of whopping mobile game publisher King and Candy Crush Saga? $68.7 billion, making this the biggest buyout in videogames industry history.
]]>The UK's Competition and Markets Authority have "provisionally" approved Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, removing the last major legal obstacle to the completion of the deal.
The CMA blocked the deal in April this year over concerns that it would "alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market", and might lead "to reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come". Microsoft attempted to woo the regulator by agreeing to sell Activision Blizzard game cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, and while the CMA have "limited residual concerns", they've largely accepted Microsoft's modifications.
]]>In an attempt to appease the UK’s Competition And Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft have restructured their proposed Activision Blizzard buyout. Should the deal finally close, cloud streaming rights to existing and future Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years will (surprisingly) fall under Ubisoft’s control. Those rights will then stay with Ubisoft “in perpetuity.”
]]>Media conglomerate Tencent are throwing more money at game studios as part of their never-ending shopping spree. Today the studio behind zombie-smasher Dying Light, Techland, announced that Tencent will become the developer’s majority shareholder.
]]>The UK’s Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) have said that Microsoft could face a “new merger investigation” over the company’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Just yesterday, Microsoft and the CMA released a joint statement to say they’ve paused their legal feud to negotiate, which means Microsoft will need to somewhat restructure the deal and the CMA will then examine it again.
]]>Yesterday marked the first day of proceedings in the legal battle between Microsoft and the US Federal Trade Commission as the FTC seeks a preliminary injunction on Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. The injunction would further prevent Microsoft's acquisition deal of Activision Blizzard from going through.
Several of Xbox's high profile figures testified at the first day of trial, including the likes of Sarah Bond, corporate vice president of gaming partnerships and business development at Microsoft, Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines, and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty. They were questioned on a range of things including cloud gaming, Call Of Duty exclusivity, and Bobby Kotick's revenue share demands.
]]>Embracer Group, the corp who've spent several years buying up dozens of video game studios, today announced a financial restructuring that will involve closing studios, cancelling games, and laying off employees. They say this will leave them a "stronger, more efficient company". Their purchases include Gearbox, Crystal Dynamics, Volition, the rights to The Lord Of The Rings, and so many more. Embracer own 138 studios and have over 16,500 people working for them, and it's not clear how many will remain afterwards.
]]>Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard just received some good news. The European Commission have today approved the $70 billion acquisition, saying that Microsoft’s commitments “represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming.” That’s a markedly different tone to the UK’s conclusion last month, as the British regulator blocked the acquisition over concerns about the cloud market’s future.
]]>Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard King has hit a large snag on the road. The UK’s Competitions And Markets Authority (CMA) previously released their provisional findings on the $69 billion buyout, laying out concerns over less competition and innovation for UK gamers. Microsoft were allowed to respond to the CMA’s findings, but it seems they weren’t able to quell the regulator’s concerns, as the CMA have now vetoed the merger.
]]>The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have released their provisional findings on Microsoft’s proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition, laying out their concerns with the $69 billion deal. The CMA say the buyout “could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers.” Since these concerns are provisional, both parties will have a chance to respond before the CMA makes its final decision on April 26th. Both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard believe the deal will encourage competition in the gaming space, rather than hinder it.
]]>Original story: A new week means one thing: another update on Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. According to a report from The New York Times, Microsoft is expecting the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to oppose the deal, after EU regulators issued their own antitrust warnings last week. Microsoft reportedly believes it can convince EU and UK regulators to accept their concessions and eventually approve the acquisition.
]]>Microsoft and Sony have been in a months-long back-and-forth over Microsoft’s proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition and the issue of Call Of Duty exclusivity, and they’re not done yet. In a series of tweets published last Friday, Microsoft’s chief communications officer Frank X. Shaw said Sony were “briefing people in Brussels claiming Microsoft is unwilling to offer them parity for Call of Duty if we acquire Activision," but added that “Nothing could be further from the truth.” I would have thought that a legal venue would be a more appropriate place to air these grievances, but I suppose this gets the job done quicker. Either way, it’s a toffee popcorn-worthy accusation in the ongoing drama.
]]>Microsoft were hoping to complete their takeover of Activision Blizzard by the end of their financial year in June. That’s looking less likely now that the US Federal Trade Commission have published a schedule that sets dates for final hearings to decide on the merger, and they're going to begin on August 2nd. As this is just the kick off for hearings about the case, it’s likely that any FTC decision on whether the $68.7 billion (£56 billion) deal can go ahead will take some time to emerge.
]]>Two weeks ago, after much hoo hah, the Federal Trade Commision launched a lawsuit with the aim of blocking Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Yesterday, a bunch of CoD players did the same.
The private consumer complaint from the 10 #gamers claims the deal would give Microsoft "far-outsized market power in the video game industry". Power to 'em. Power to the gamers.
]]>Cambridge-based Runescape publisher Jagex have announced they’ve acquired Gamepires, the devs behind open-world survival sandbox Scum. The deal was made for an undisclosed amount. Both companies said they’re now looking to work together to “accelerate Scum”, and release it in 1.0 across multiple platforms in the future.
]]>The US Federal Trade Commission have moved to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. After months of review, during which Microsoft argued that the merger was fine because Activision Blizzard's games aren't that great really, the FTC have filed a complaint which argues that the acquisition "would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business."
]]>If you haven't heard, Microsoft are currently trying to buy Activision Blizzard. Competition regulators from the UK, the EU and the US have been questioning the deal, so in an attempt to reassure them last month Microsoft apparently offered Sony a ten-year commitment to keep selling Call Of Duty on Playstation. Today, Xbox Head Phill Spencer announced that they've made a similar 10-year CoD commitment to Steam and, uh, Nintendo, on which no CoD games currently exist.
Nintendo have signed, while Valve CEO Gabe Newell says his company won't bother with a legal agreement, in part because they don't believe in "requiring any partner to have an agreement that locks them to shipping games on Steam into the distant future".
]]>Microsoft's proposed buyout of Activision-Blizzard is currently being scrutinized by competition regulators in various countries, but despite previous (and existing) objections the American Federal Trade Commision now looks likely to approve the deal. The news comes from the New York Post, who quote former FTC chairman William Kovacic as saying the deal is 70% likely to proceed.
There's a web of politics involved, but the short version is that insider sources say Microsoft have won over another member of the four person FTC panel, meaning any vote on whether to launch a lawsuit would result in an even split that would effectively OK the deal. That would reduce current FTC Chair Lina Khan's authority over the body, so to avoid that she might just let Microsoft have at it.
]]>Microsoft might consider offering Sony a 10-year licensing deal for Call Of Duty to persuade European Union regulators to approve their Activision Blizzard acquisition. Reuters report that sources familiar with the deal claim an offer could come ahead of the European Commission’s January deadline for their statement of objection, a formal list of the body’s concerns about how the $68.7 billion (£57 billion) buyout deal might affect competition within the games industry. If Microsoft show willingness to offer concessions and ease the EU regulator’s competition concerns, that could potentially speed up the regulator’s decision-making process.
]]>Activision Blizzard executive vice-president for corporate affairs Lulu Cheng Meservey has tweeted that the company “won't hesitate to fight to defend” Microsoft’s $68.7 billion (£57 billion) buyout of the publisher. The comment came after reports began circulating that the US Federal Trade Commission could bring a lawsuit against Microsoft over the deal. Anonymous sources claiming to be close to the matter also suggested that a lawsuit from the FTC might begin as early as December.
]]>The United States’ consumer watchdogs, the Federal Trade Commission, are considering filing a lawsuit against Microsoft over the company’s proposed $68.7 billion (£57 billion) buyout of Activision Blizzard. US newspaper Politico report that three anonymous sources with knowledge of the potential antitrust lawsuit have claimed it could happen in December, although any such lawsuit isn't guaranteed. The four FTC commissioners haven’t voted to decide on a complaint yet, and haven’t met with Microsoft or Activision Blizzard lawyers, two of the sources said.
]]>Jumpship are only just releasing their first game today, alien invasion dad-venture Somerville, but they’ve been snapped up by publishers Thunderful. The small studio based in Guildford will still be free to pursue its own creative projects, continuing to focus on story-driven games such as Somerville. Co-founder of Jumpship and former CEO of Playdead Dino Patti will become Thunderful’s Strategic Advisor, but remains with the studio.
]]>The EU’s business competition regulators are deepening their investigation into Microsoft’s planned $68.7 billion (£60 billion) deal to acquire Call Of Duty and Overwatch publisher Activision Blizzard. The intention to conduct an in-depth investigation was announced in a statement on the European Commission’s website, and will focus on how the deal will affect console and PC games, along with PC operating systems. This means that both the EU and UK are now holding further investigations into the potential buyout of Activision Blizzard due to concerns that Microsoft’s acquisition of the company could reduce competition within the games industry.
]]>The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have set a statutory deadline of March 1st for their investigation into Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and any third parties submitting responses to the CMA have until February to do so. As detailed in an update to the CMA’s administrative timetable for their investigation, it might be the case that provisional findings are brought forward in January, a year after the deal was first revealed.
]]>Pop culture wiki service Fandom has acquired a whole bunch of gaming and entertainment sites including media sites GameSpot and Giant Bomb, the company announced today. As part of the deal with Red Ventures, Fandom also gain Metacritic and GameFAQs, along with broader entertainment coverage through Comic Vine and TV Guide. The cost of the purchase wasn’t disclosed.
]]>Focus Entertainment have paid an undisclosed amount to acquire historical shooter devs WW1 Game Series, known for Verdun, Tannenberg and the upcoming Isonzo, from M2H. Set on the Italian Front, Isonzo actually happens to be out tomorrow too. Have a peek at the game, replete with many moustaches, in the trailer below.
]]>Chinese media giants Tencent have invested €300 million (£260 million) in the company operated by Ubisoft’s founding family, the Guillemots. The deal will see Tencent bring some of Ubisoft’s most well known game series to mobile, and to PC in China. Tencent’s investment in Guillemot Brothers Limited follows speculation last month that they were looking to take out a bigger stake in Ubisoft, even becoming the single largest shareholders.
]]>Further investigation of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard is needed by the UK’s competition regulator, a statement on the government’s website confirmed today. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began the preliminary stage of their investigation at the beginning of July, with a deadline set for September 1st. That initial stage of investigation found that the deal could “substantially lessen competition in gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and cloud gaming services”.
]]>Sony Interactive Entertainment and Chinese conglomerate Tencent have bought a combined 30% of stock in Elden Ring and Souls series developers FromSoftware, parent company Kadokawa Corporation have announced today. The transaction leaves Sony with a 14% stake in FromSoft, and Tencent acquiring 16% of the company’s shares. Kadokawa remain the largest shareholders, holding almost a 70% stake in FromSoft.
]]>Chinese tech giants NetEase have announced they’ve fully acquired Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain developers Quantic Dream, following a smaller investment in the company in 2019. Quantic Dream’s co-CEOs David Cage and Guillaime de Fondaumière will remain in place, and the studio will continue to function independently from NetEase. The cost of the deal hasn’t been disclosed.
]]>Swedish media buyer-uppers Embracer Group have completed their $300 million (£253 million) acquisition of former Square Enix studios, begun in May this year. The deal sees Crystal Dynamics, Eidol Montréal and Square Enix Montréal become part of a 12th operating group within Embracer. Square Enix Montréal will now change their name.
]]>Amazon are intending to announce they’ve made an offer to buy publishing colossus Electronic Arts later today, according to a new report from USA Today’s For The Win, who cite sources from Swedish gaming agency GLHF. No clue yet as to how much they’d be paying, but it’s likely to be ranging in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. Maybe just not as many as Microsoft’s $68.7 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard, revealed in January.
]]>It’s a running gag that Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group regularly buy up large chunks of the games industry, but now they’ve only gone and bought a whole universe. Embracer have acquired the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit properties from long-time owner The Saul Zaentz Company. That includes games, along with movies and other media content, folks. Ol’ Embracer have also acquired seven companies within the gaming realm.
]]>Chinese gaming and social media giants Tencent have approached Ubisoft’s founders, the Guillemot family, in an effort to expand their stake in the AAA publisher, Reuters report. Tencent acquired a 5% stake in Ubisoft in 2018 and now multiple anonymous sources are now saying that Tencent intends to become the single largest shareholder in the publisher, a company valued at almost $6 billion (£4.9 billion).
]]>Microsoft have justified their $68.7 billion ($56 billion) purchase of Call Of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard by telling regulators that the company doesn’t produce “must have” games. If that’s making you ask why they’d stump up more than any other tech buyout in history for the privilege of owning a company that doesn’t have any killer apps in its stables, then you can line up right behind me, bosmang.
]]>The UK government’s competition regulator is to investigate Microsoft’s $68.7 billion (£57 billion) buyout of Activision Blizzard, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced yesterday. A provisional deadline to decide whether the merger will be referred for a more in-depth investigation has been set for September 1st, and the CMA has invited “any interested party” to comment on the merger up until July 20th.
]]>Blizzard is buying the development studio responsible for magical battle royale Spellbreak, Proletariat, and moving their staff over to work on World Of Warcraft. The purveyors of all things Azeroth confirmed the buyout in a statement to VentureBeat. News of the acquisition comes just a day after Spellbreak’s imminent demise was revealed by Proletariat on the game’s website.
]]>Some Activision Blizzard shareholders want to rake through the company’s records to investigate whether CEO Bobby Kotick pushed through the takeover by Microsoft to prevent himself being found liable for alleged misconduct, according to a recently filed complaint. The ‘220 complaint’ – a legal recourse for shareholders to seek access to company books and records – was filed in Delaware by New York City Employees’ Retirement System and pension funds for teachers, police and firefighters on April 26th. It’s since been shared with Axios.
]]>Square Enix are to sell most of their Western studios and intellectual property such as Tomb Raider, Deux Ex, Thief and Legacy Of Kain to Sweden’s Embracer Group for $300 million (£240 million) in cash, it has been announced. The studios being sold to Embracer include Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal, but not the UK-based Square Enix Collective. This means Square will retain publishing rights to IP including Life Is Strange, Just Cause and Outriders.
]]>Shareholders in Activision Blizzard approved overwhelmingly to accept Microsoft Corporation’s offer of $68.7 billion (£54.66 billion) to acquire the company at yesterday’s Special Meeting of Stockholders. More than 98% of the shares voted in favour of the buyout offer, Activision Blizzard confirmed in a statement released on their website. The largest payment for a technology company in recorded history, toppling Dell’s acquisition of EMC Data Storage from 2016, it’s now expected the deal will conclude during Microsoft’s fiscal year, which ends on June 30th 2023.
]]>Perfect World Entertainment have announced that they’re now known as Gearbox Publishing. Or Gearbox Publishing have announced that they’re no longer Perfect World Entertainment. Same difference. Gearbox Publishing say the change shouldn’t affect anything to do with the ageing live service games they steward, like Star Trek Online and Neverwinter. They’re all part of the Embracer Group, y’see.
]]>Gearbox Software are making an “all-new” follow-up to Telltale Games’ Tales From The Borderlands episodic graphic adventure set in the Borderlands universe. It’s out this year, Gearbox revealed at this week’s PAX East event.
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford – who stepped aside as head of Gearbox Software last October – dropped the existence of the project right at the end of the PAX East presentation while wearing some shockingly Borderlands-yellow chinos. You can watch for yourselves below. Skip to about five minutes from before the end if you’re just interested in the Tales From The Borderlands announcement.
]]>Beamdog, the Canadian studio behind the 'Enhanced Edition' remasters of Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate, have announced their first original game: Mythforce. It's a roguelikelike first-person stabber with a striking visual style inspired by 80s children's cartoons. Also, Beamdog are being bought by Aspyr Media, joining the mahoosive Embracer Group as the consolidation of the games industry continues.
]]>Tencent have bought a majority stake in Tequila Works, the developers of Rime, Deadlight, The Sexy Brutale, and forthcoming League Of Legends tie-in Song Of Nunu. No fee was disclosed with the announcement, but Tequila Works co-founder Raúl Rubio said the investment would allow the company to focus on "original IPs".
]]>1C Entertainment, the publishers of games like Men Of War and King's Bounty, have been bought by Tencent. Among the 1C subsidiaries hoovered up are Muve, Cenega and QLOC, the latter of which provide co-development, testing and localisation services to companies like EA, Warner Bros. and many others.
This is the second company Tencent have bought this week, with them picking up Inflexion Games, the makers of survival game Nightingale.
]]>I recently had the chance to grill Gabe Newell – Valve president and co-founder, plus brain tech enthusiast – about the Steam Deck. What followed did indeed start with a look at Valve’s portable PC, including the lessons learned from the company’s past hardware attempts, but it soon swerved into a wider-ranging discussion on cryptocurrency, NFTs, consolidation issues affecting the games industry and whether there might be whole new Steam Decks in the future. Come and read the full Q&A below.
]]>The consolidation of the games industry – that is, games companies being bought up and absorbed by bigger games companies – has been increasing, intensifying, and giving poor Ed the aches. Exhibited most dramatically by Microsoft stumping up $69 billion for Activision Blizzard, this trend towards conglomerification has raised worries about both creative expression and the potential locking-down of more games to certain platforms.
Valve president and co-founder Gabe Newell is no stranger to making some additions. Valve famously hired the student developers of Narbacular Drop to work on what eventually became Portal, and acquired Firewatch developers Campo Santo in 2018. In our recent interview, I asked him whether he thought consolidation could be a problem for the industry going forwards.
]]>Three months after the new studio of former BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn announced their game Nightingale, they're being bought by Tencent. The media conglomerate are buying the studio, Inflexion Games, off tech company Improbable, who say they're too busy with the metaverse nowadays. So far, the plan remains the same: launch the multiplayer Victorian fantasy craft-o-survival game into early access later this year.
]]>Right now, every big games company's shareholders have two questions: 1) can we get rich off NFTs? 2) can we get rich being bought by a larger company? Well, Ubisoft have made their stupid-ass stance on NFTs quite clear, so let's move on to question two. In a recent financial conference call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said they think they're good to stand independent, but if someone had a juicy offer, well, they might think about it. But that's a noncommittal business answer, really, just business as usual.
]]>Daedalic, German publisher and developer of adventure games, have been acquired by Nacon for €53 million (around £44 million). The two companies had previously been collaborating on the forthcoming third-person stealth game, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum.
]]>Hi, nice to meet you. Can I get you anything? A drink, a bite to eat, an acquisition maybe? There are apparently a lot of them to go around, after all. Hear that? It's Sony buying Bungie. It's Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard. It's Tencent accidentally dropping £365 billion down a grate as they stroll down the street and unknowingly buy the Earth's crust. They were on the phone to me at the time, putting an offer on my flat. I am tired of these big companies buying everything. Can we just slow down for a hot second and chill out a bit, please?
]]>Oh sure, Sony buying Bungie was big buyout business news yesterday, but the real mega-acquisition of the day was Wordle. The New York Times, a hardcopy blog, are buying the viral hit word puzzle game for "an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures." They say it will be free when it moves under their banner, though it's not clear if it will stay that way.
]]>Just when you thought all the big movers and shakers had done their multi-billion dollar acquisition deals for the year, Sony have just announced they're buying Bungie for $3.6 billion. A small sum, perhaps, in the face of the $69 billion Microsoft are currently shelling out for Activision Blizzard, but rather than simply subsuming the Destiny developer into the PlayStation mothership, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan has said that Bungie will "remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher." Well!
]]>When I held that monkey's paw and wished for more games to appear on Game Pass, I didn't mean like this! I don't know if anyone has been brave enough to come out and say this, but Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard is... problematic. Even before you consider the serious and unresolved allegations of workplace misconduct at ActiBlizz, there's no easy "this is good, actually" point of view to have here.
]]>In the wake of scandal and lawsuits alleging a culture of discrimination and harrassment at Activision Blizzard, Microsoft today announced they're buying the company. Wait, hang on. What. That's not what I expected when Xbox head Phil Spencer told staff he was "evaluating all aspects of [Xbox's] relationship" with Activision Blizzard. Microsoft plan to pay $68.7 billion (£50 billion) for the company, which will nab them games including Warcraft, Call Of Duty, and Overwatch. Jesus.
]]>Zynga, the company whose games made being Facebook friends with your family even more annoying, are selling to Take-Two. The owners of Rockstar and 2K plan to buy up Zynga shares in a deal that'll value the company at $12.7 billion (£9.4b). Take-Two hope to use Zynga's social and mobile expertise to make more games based on their games. Sure sure, #business and all, but I'd rather spend that much money on 9.8 billion Greggs sausage rolls instead of Grand Theft Autoville or something.
]]>Embracer Group are continuining to do their part in attempts to merge the entire video games industry into one megacorp, this week announcing another five intended acquisitions. Among these are Perfect World, the publishers of Star Trek Online and Torchlight, and the studio behind Scribblenauts Showdown, Shiver Entertainment. They're also going transmedia, buying comics and TV company Dark Horse as well as an animation company and a video-on-demand network. Now they just need to get into food and housing, then our dystopian dreams of one corp owning our entire lives can come true.
]]>Chinese game developer-gobbler Tencent have acquired Slamfire, the parent company of Back 4 Blood developers Turtle Rock Studios. In a statement about the acquisition, Turtle Rock say that "the Back 4 Blood franchise is here to stay and we will be working on it well into the future."
]]>Epic Games have bought Harmonix, the studio behind rhythm games including Rock Band and Fuser, to help support their boring attempt to "build the metaverse". The Fortnite and Unreal Engine overlords say that Harmonix "will collaborate closely with Epic to develop musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite". The battle royale has seen some fancy musical performances, with elaborate in-game events to promote pop stars including Travis Scott and Ariana Grande, but hopefully Harmonix aren't consigned to advertising for eternity?
]]>Krafton, the South Korean company behind Plunkbat and Tera, today announced that they're buying Unknown Worlds, the studio splendid subaquatic survival sim series Subnautica and the fantastic FPS-RTS hybrid Natural Selection. Huh! The professed plan is for them to keep on as usual, still working on the Subnauticae as well as a mystery game debuting next year.
]]>Chinese publishers NetEase have bought Grasshopper Manufacture, the Japanese studio behind stylish, swaggering games including No More Heroes, The Silver Case, and Killer7. While NetEase have roots in mobile games, they have been investing in fancier things. Grasshopper say that with NetEase's cash, they plan to release "three even higher-quality 'Grasshopper Manufacture Games'" over the next decade.
]]>Cyberpunk and Witcher crew CD Projekt have acquired The Molasses Flood, the American studio behind post-apocalyptic raft ride The Flame In The Flood and base-building game Drake Hollow. Huh! The studio will be making a game set in one of CD Projekt's worlds, which warrants a second: huh! It's all secret for now.
]]>Funcom have acquired the Cabinet Group, the company which owns the intellectual properties Conan The Barbarian and Mutant Year Zero. Funcom have already developed several Conan games by licensing the IP, including the MMO Age Of Conan and more recently the survival game Conan Exiles.
The announcement also mentioned that a new game is currently in development which will star Conan and "many of the characters in the Robert E. Howard universe."
]]>Embracer Group, named for the wonderful hugs they give, have announced the acquisition of several development studios under their various subsidiaries. They now own 3D Realms, who, despite operating largely as a publisher nowadays, will forever be linked to Duke Nukem. This means that Embracer now owns both 3D Realms and Duke Nukem’s owners, Gearbox, who they acquired earlier this year. Can you see where this is heading?
]]>Yesterday, Tencent announced they're set to buy UK game developer Sumo Digital, the folks behind games like Crackdown 3, Team Sonic Racing and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. The deal is reportedly worth £919 million ($1.27 billion), and means Tencent will fully own the company.
This isn't the first big acquisition the Chinese tech conglomerate have made, and I'm sure it won't be the last. But now is as good a time as ever to remind ourselves of exactly how many gaming pies Tencent have their thumbs plunged into.
]]>The megacorp who own games companies including Deep Silver, THQ Nordic, Gearbox, and dozens of others have revealed they're still looking to buy so many more. Embracer Group said in a financial report today that they're currently in "more than 20 late-stage talks", having recently raised SEK 7.6 billion (£645m) to fund their ongoing spending spree. No hints yet on who they might be looking at but hell, guess a mid-sized studio or publisher who released a game you liked in the past five years and you'll probably be right.
]]>As the video games industry continues trying to cram itself into as few companies as possible, French publisher Focus Home Interactive have announced they've bought a majority stake in Streum On Studio. They're the French studio behind the delightfully ambitious E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy as well as two Warhammer 40K shooters published by Focus Home, Space Hulk: Deathwing and the upcoming Necromunda: Hired Gun. Honestly, they seem a fair fit. And hey, they've made a new Necromunda trailer too.
]]>Gearbox Software have become the latest company to be snapped up by the monolithic Embracer Group, joining a lineup which includes THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, and Coffee Stain. The Group announced their intent to purchase the Borderlands and Duke Nukem Forever gang in February, and yesterday said the acquisition is now complete. Gearbox say their plans include making new-new games as well as revisiting older worlds in some way.
]]>The games groundhog saw his shadow this year, and we all know what that means. There are going to be six more weeks of business season before we can all take off our coats for E3 season. Today's business forecast includes 100% chance of acquisitions. Social games folks Zynga have announced that they've acquired Max Schaefer's Torchlight 3 studio Echtra Games. They'll now be collaborating on an unannounced RPG.
Zynga haven't disclosed the terms of the sale but do let on their plans for Echtra. They'll be working with fellow Zynga studio NaturalMotion on "a new, yet to be announced RPG for cross-platform play."
]]>Epic Games have bought Tonic Games Group, the parent company of Mediatonic, who are the developers of Fall Guys. Mediatonic say that it won't change much for Fall Guys, for now, and the wacky multiplayer game will remain purchasable on Steam.
]]>Electronic Arts today announced they've completed their acquisiton of Codemasters, the English company behind the F1 and Dirt games. They sound well stoked to bolster their racing roster, saying that this "marks an exciting new era in racing game entertainment". A new era! Hark at that. I hope they've got a catchy branded name for this epoch. Haven't had a good one since Willenium.
]]>Not only did Embracer Group buy Borderlands devs Gearbox today, they also picked up Aspyr Media. Aspyr are mostly known for making Mac and Linux ports of other folks' Windows games, with a catalogue including Civilization VI and Borderlands, though they are getting into making their own games too. Sounds like they'll keep on keeping now they're part of Embracer.
]]>Embracer Group, a vast web of European developers and publishers which includes THQ Nordic and Deep Silver, today announced they've swallowed up Gearbox. The gang behind Borderlands and Aliens: Colonial Marines are merging with Embracer to become the seventh operating group within the family. The deal's worth $363 million (£262m) to start. Gearbox say this is cool, and they're planning to grow.
]]>Klei Entertainment, developers of indie hits Don't Starve and Oxygen Not Included have announced today that they've agreed for Tencent, the media conglomerate that's been doing quite a lot of buying, to purchase a majority stake in the company. Klei founders say that they will keep "full autonomy of creative and operations across all aspects of the studio".
]]>Chinese media conglomerate Tencent have bought Leyou, a name which might not mean much to you but you'll know some of their subsidiaries: Warframe developers Digital Extremes, and Dirty Bomb devs Splash Damage. Both those studios have issued statements saying hey, don't sweat it, this will be fine.
]]>Embracer Group, parent company of THQ Nordic and Saber Interactive, have announced their acquisition of 13 companies today, 11 of which are game developers. Among the new acquisitions are Flying Wild Hog, currently developing Shadow Warrior 3, and Phoenix Point developers Snapshot Games.
]]>As of late, Microsoft have bought up countless mid-size game studios, culminating recently in the acquisition of big lad ZeniMax in September. Even still, they hungered for more, and now it looks like they’re after a Japanese studio to gobble up.
]]>Microsoft have been on a rampaging buying mid-size game studios in recent years, escalating to the point that they bought chuffing ZeniMax in September. But even buying the studios behind The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Dishonored, Fallout, and so on has not sated their desire for acquisition and expansion. In a recent interview, Xbox head Phil Spencer explained he thinks they still have a few holes in their lineup, a few types of games they're not yet making internally. And with Xbox Game Pass being a big part of their plans, they really want to be able to do everything.
]]>Not-so-serious publishers Devolver Digital have announced today in a not-so-serious post that they've acquired Serious Sam developers Croteam. Seriously. Well, the tone of the announcement isn't serious but it has seriously happened. It's a business love story for the books.
]]>Update: Microsoft say they'll "keep the commitment" to bring Bethesda's Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo to PS5 as timed exclusives. More below.
Microsoft just announced they've bought ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. The developers of games such as Skyrim, Fallout, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake and all those classics are now technically Xbox Game Studios. Xbox boss Phil Spencer made a post welcoming the developers, in what he calls a "landmark step" for both Microsoft and Bethesda.
What a year.
]]>There's a new conductor on the Metro: Exodus train. Or driver, even. Captain? I might not know how trains work, but I can tell you that Metro developers 4A Games have just been picked up by Embracer Group for around $80 million (roughly £61 million), and are floating plans to put that partnership to work on a multiplayer take on the post-apocalyptic Muscovite.
]]>Daybreak Games, the makers of PlanetSide 2 and EverQuest, have bought Cold Iron Studios. Formed in 2015 by former City Of Heroes and Neverwinter developers, Cold Iron have been making a yet-unrevealed shooter set in the Alien universe for several years. While business acquisitions aren't usually that interesting, this one means that mysterious Alien game might actually see the light of day.
]]>Continuing to buy studios like they're releasing DLC, Paradox Interactive today announced they've acquired Iceflake Studios, the Finnish studio who are making post-apocalyptic city-builder Surviving The Aftermath. They're becoming Paradox's ninth studio. Paradox talk vaguely about Iceflake helping make more games in their "core genres" so I guess they'll be continuing with strat-o-build-a-sim-y-RPG things.
]]>Continuing their remarkable expansion, Crusader Kings and Stellaris company Paradox Interactive today announced they've bought Playrion Game Studio, a French crew focused on mobile games. Maybe you know them from Airlines Manager? Paradox say that owning Playrion will help them bring more of their game worlds to mobile. No hints as to what might be next, mind.
]]>Previously plucky independent studio Hypixel are plucky no more, having been bought by moneybags League Of Legends developer Riot Games. The Hytale creators will now be setting up their first permanent studio in Derry, Northern Ireland, before cracking on with their upcoming blocky RPG.
]]>Tencent are already shareholders in Riot Games, Epic, Ubisoft, and plenty of other game companies. Though already the largest shareholders in Conan Exiles developers Funcom, Tencent want to buy out all other shareholders to gain full ownership. Funcom welcome the move, looking to expand plans for an upcoming Dune game.
]]>Team 17, the mob who make Worms as well as publishing games like Yooka-Laylee and Overcooked, have bought games studio Yippee Entertainment in a £1.4 million deal.
If you haven't heard of Yippee before, they predominantly work on licensed games for companies like Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and the BBC. They've also made a platformer series of their own, Chimpact, which is mostly for mobile but has jumped on PC too.
]]>Codemasters, the makers of many zoom 'em ups, apparently want more power under their hood. They purchased the entirety of Slightly Mad Studios, developers of the Project Cars and Need For Speed: Shift games, this week to the tune of £23 million. The entirety of Slightly Mad's 150-person team will reportedly join the company.
]]>The Oculus lords at Facebook have bought Beat Games, the makers of VR breakout hit Beat Saber. That's the rhythm game where you gogg up to slash through blocks representing beats of a song - Guitar Hero meets Star Trek in cyberspace. Y'know, one of the games that people recommend a lot as a getaway to VR. That one. It's Facebook's. Beat Games say they'll continue to update and support Beat Saber on all its current cybergoggles, not just Oculus sets, though it's less clear what the acquisition might mean for any future games - or for Beat Saber mods.
]]>On Sunday at E3 2019, Microsoft announced they had bought Double Fine. At last year's show, the tech giant announced they had bought Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Playground Games and Compulsion Games, then added Obsidian and inXile in November. In the last 8 months, THQ Nordic has purchased Piranha Bytes, Bugbear Entertainment and Coffee Stain Studios, as well as the IP for TimeSplitters, Carmageddon, Outcast and more. A few weeks ago Sega bought Two Point Studios, to add to their existing strategy studios which includes Amplitude, Creative Assembly, Relic and Sports Interactive.
The games industry is experiencing a wave of consolidation, and it's a cause for concern. I was more worried a few months ago when Epic Games bought Psyionix, makers of Rocket League, than I have been about any Epic Games store exclusive. Here's why.
]]>Double Fine Productions, the studio behind cheery games including Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, have been bought up by Microsoft. They say they'll continue to make those Double Fine games in that Double Fine way, which I suppose is what everyone says after their business is acquired.
]]>.png?width=1200&height=630&fit=crop&enable=upscale&auto=webp "שחרורו של Assassin's Creed Shadows נדחה למרץ כאשר מועצת המנהלים של Ubisoft שוקל מכירת חברה")
