Piranhas have around 25 people but make these huge 60+ hour RPGs with choices and consequences in them, so some rough edges are inevitable. It would be great if this allowed them to staff up a bit and make Elex 2 better than first.
THQN is building quite a nice RPG portfolio.
Man, THQ Nordic has been killing it on the acquisitions lately. I don’t know if they already have a studio working on it, but throw some additional resources at Piranha Bytes and they become the perfect studio to resurrect the Kingdoms of Amalur IP that THQN bought last year.
Didn’t notice this at the time. Does this mean I can blame the halfwits responsible for that 8chan chat for Satisfactory going Epic exclusive?
Cross-posted from the EGS thread:
On THQ Nordic’s investor call, the CEO told attendees that although Metro Exodus did well digitally, the “absolute majority” of sales were on console. When asked specifically about Epic Games Store performance, he hesitated then said Exodus performed better than expected “in the beginning of the year” but would not elaborate.
He ignored a question about Satisfactory’s sales numbers on EGS.
Shocking! Just shocking! When 95%± of their PC player base it on Steam what did they expect. :)
Also they had the redux version on Origin and GOG, so that like the remaining 5%± .
Yeah they’re all pikachuface.jpg over that, while the rest of us are, “umm… you blew off the PC’s biggest store LOL”
Enjoy that fat extra 12%… of nothing
You listening to this, Travis?
Maybe it’s much more harmless and the article was just worded imprecisely. Just move the quotation marks a couple of words to the left and it sounds much more non-committal. "Exodus performed better than expected in the beginning of the year”, but would not elaborate
If they sold 1 unit more than expected that’s already true and it doesn’t admit a mistake or jab EGS.
That doesn’t really improve anything. Saying it sold better than expected in the beginning of the year, and not saying anything else, still implies it didn’t sell as well later. Investor calls usually aren’t about downplaying positive news.
You nisunderstood me. Let me break it down for you: ;)
- “We’ve made another projection early this year.”
- “Exodus sold better than we expected.”
But let’s end the discussion here. A more substantial answer has been posted by another member in the other thread.
80 games. EIGHTY!
That’s a lot of games.
@jsnell broke it down in the EGS thread and it doesn’t sound nearly as bad when you read the actual transcript rather than a summary of it.
More Dead Island 2 drama:
They also bought Gunfire games, the developer behind Darksiders III, and a team called Milestone that I’m unfamiliar with, who make racing games.
Screw that… Milestone is best known for Screamer, Screamer 2 and the World Superbike games for Electronic Arts in the early '00s! :)
As for Timesplitters…
“I’m always amazed the universe will tolerate the two of you together like this.”
In a world with Dying Light I’m not sure what Dead Island is good for.
Probably the same question the last 3,4,5 whatever number of developers have had.
Annual REPORT!
48 unannounced projects! D:
As part of another acquisition binge, THQ Nordic swooped up Metro series developer 4A Games. They’ll be taking on some 150 staff from Saber Interactive, too. Are there any independent AAA studios left outside of Remedy and Gearbox?
Embracer Group AB (“Embracer”), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saber Interactive[1], has today entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Malta-based 4A Games Limited (“4A Games”). 4A Games is a top-tier independent AAA PC and Console developer behind the successful Metro franchise and a long-term development partner to the Embracer owned publisher Deep Silver. Through the acquisition, Saber Interactive onboards a reputable team of 150+ people across two studios in Malta and Ukraine as well as best-in-class internally developed and owned First-Person-Shooter (“FPS”) technology to the Group. The upfront purchase price amounts to approximately MUSD 36 on a cash and debt free basis and is paid in cash and in newly issued B shares, plus an earn-out consideration, subject to fulfilment of agreed milestones, of a maximum USD 35 million. 4A Games expects net sales of approximately MEUR 20 for the period Jan-Dec 2020, with an operational EBIT of approximately MEUR 12.
“With the acquisition of 4A Games, Saber Interactive is locking-up one of the best indie studios in the industry with the potential and capacity to take on another AAA project and are also internalizing the value of existing and future IPs into the Group. Saber solidifies its position as a leader in the CIS and Ukrainian game developer market. Combining our technology and capabilities with 4A Games presents tremendous opportunity for growth and expansion” says Matt Karch, CEO Saber Interactive Inc., Director of the Embracer Board.
If I am reading it correctly it just means that the 150 people at 4A Games become part of Saber Interactive (the publisher, not the developer). Effectively nothing significant will change, the 4A studio remains same as it was, operating independently, just with support of Saber and larger Embracer as a whole.
For example when they acquired Warhorse, for Warhorse nothing changed, they are making their new game as they would have always done, the only significant thing that changed is that Warhorse PR and marketing guy Tobi is now helping out with marketing nonWarhorse game Iron Harvest as well, since Warhorse have nothing to announce yet.
Anyway, this aquisition makes sense, although I expected 4A to become part of Deep Silver and not Saber. I half expected MS to snatch them up first though.
Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise. Someone pointed out that Saber will be using 4A’s engine for their future titles and will work on the next Metro’s multiplayer alongside 4A Games. I only care about single player though, so I don’t mind. Thinking of what the studio could achieve with more resources is extremely exciting. Exodus, outside of the crummy dialogue and worthless protagonist, was a brilliant shooter.
“Embracer Group and Saber Interactive are the perfect partners for 4A Games and for our next phase of growth. Together we will continue to build on the Metro franchise and will focus on bringing a multiplayer experience to our fanbase. We look forward to building a new and even more ambitious AAA IP in the near future” says Dean Sharpe, CEO 4A Games
Within the Embracer Group, 4A Games will operate as an independent studio under Saber Interactive. 4A Games will significantly strengthen Saber’s development capabilities in Ukraine and are currently collaborating on an entirely new project that combines the AAA production values of 4A Games, combined engine and technology know-how and Saber’s experience on multiplayer and live operations. 4A Games has also initiated development on a brand new AAA IP that leverages its decade of experience on developing the Metro series.
Conceived in 2005 when the studio was first established, the 4A Games’ development engine has powered all 4A Games’ titles to date and is constantly improved in-house to stay at the forefront of innovation in the industry. Natively multi-platform and scalable with robust functionality and integrations, 4A Games’ proprietary engine offers leading technology for single player FPS development and compliments Saber Interactive’s development and live operations technology.