Embracer Group holding (formerly known as THQ Nordic AB) has bought one of Sweden’s largest indie studios. It’s called Tarsier Studios.
The studio cost $10.5 million. The buyer will pay almost $9 million in cash, the rest in the form of shares and payments for the founders. Under the terms of the deal, Tarsier will join the recently acquired by the holding company, the Goodbye Kansas Game Invest subgroup. And at the same time it will continue its autonomous work.
For $10.5 million, Embracer Group receives a studio, its entire staff of 65 developers and the rights to all its intellectual property (for example, Static). But not on Little Nightmares: this IP is owned by the publisher Bandai Namco.
Tarsier has been developing games for 15 years. The developer specializes in adventure games and puzzles for PC and consoles. Her titles were published at various times by Bandai Namco, Sony and Nintendo. Little Nightmares, in particular, was her first original IP. The game sold 1 million copies a year after its release.
In 2020, Tarsier will release a sequel to Little Nightmares. This is the last time the studio works with an IP belonging to a third-party publisher. All subsequent games will be released under the brand Embracer Group and Goodbye Kansas Game Invest.
Embracer Group is the new name of THQ Nordic AB holding. It includes the groups THQ Nordic Gmbh, Coffee Stain and Koch Media (Deep Silver). The holding is known for massively buying up game studios. Over the past year alone, his assets have become Gunfire Games, Milestone, Warhorse, Piranha Bytes, etc.
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