Virtuos has acquired British indie game developer, Third Kind Games.

Virtuos says the acquisition will enhance its "AAA co-development capabilities and establish a new foothold for Virtuos in the UK."

The buyout will not affect the game's management, as Virtuos says Third Kind - which employs over 70 in Leamington Spa, UK, and has worked on games like Fable, Forza Horizon 4, and Sea of Thieves - will continue to be led by its nine co-founders, all of whom formerly worked at Activision.

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Game publisher Reforged Studios has acquired Ground Shatter and Extra Mile Studios.

Ground Shatter is led by founder and director James Parker, and is the developer behind roguelike deck-builder Fights in Tight Spaces.

Extra Mile Studios is led by Bobby Farmer, and is known for providing co-developer services on Revolution Software's Broken Swords series.

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Keywords Studios has acquired Wushu Studios for an undisclosed sum.

The Liverpool-based studio was founded in 2017 by Alan McDermott and provides work-for-hire services to publishers and developers in addition to porting, remaster, and live support services.

Wushu has worked on games including Baldur's Gate 3, Fall Guys, Forza Horizon 5, The Ascent, and State of Decay 2.

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PUBG publisher Krafton has acquired Tango Gameworks and the Hi-Fi Rush IP from Xbox as part of a 'strategic agreement'.

The firm says it is working with Xbox to enable a 'smooth transition' so that the Tango team can "continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects".

Tango Gameworks was one of four Bethesda studios that Microsoft announced plans to shut down back in May. It was formed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami in 2010, and was responsible for The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2 and Ghostwire Tokyo, before launching Hi-Fi Rush in 2023 to critical acclaim. Xbox acquired the studio in 2021 as part of its $7.5 billion purchase of Bethesda parent company Zenimax.

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Nazara Technologies has acquired UK based Fusebox Games for $27.2 million.

Founded in 2016, Fusebox is a mobile free-to-play studio based in the UK. It publishes interactive story titles including Love Island, and has similar games in development based on other global television IPs.

"We see a large opportunity in building an IP based global gaming business that benefits from our core base in India where we can support global studios through enhanced user acquisition strategies, data analytics, live operations, and new initiatives," said Nazara CEO and founder Nitish Mittersain.

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Amber has announced the acquisition of developer Madbricks for an unknown sum.

The Colombian studio specialises in co-development and has already collaborated with Amber in the past. It's also developed projects with Voodoo, ByteDance, and Maximum Games among others.

Based in Bogotá, the developer employs around 40 people.

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Gaming and esports brand GiantX has acquired AI esports coaching start-up iTero Gaming.

While the full sum was undisclosed, the company said the acquisition was a "multi-million [dollar] deal."

As part of the acquisition, iTero founder Jack J Williams has been appointed head of gaming technology at GiantX. He founded iTero Gaming in 2022.

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Warner Bros. Games has acquired MultiVersus developer Player First Games.

As reported by Variety, Player First will remain under the guidance of co-founders Tony Huynh and Chris White, who serve as the studio's head and head of technology, respectively. Both will now report to Warner Bros. Games San Diego's studio head and VP, Carlos Barbosa.

"We have worked with Player First Games over several years to create and launch MultiVersus, and we are very pleased to welcome this talented team to Warner Bros. Games," said Warner Bros. Games president David Haddad.

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Honestly, there are only two requirements to avoid an acquisition:

1. The studio's controlling stakeholders/majority owners want the company to remain independent and do not want to cash out
2. The company remains financially stable enough not to need a bailout

If the studio ownership decides they want to retire or cash out, they will be open to opportunities to sell. This is usually something of an inevitability - we are human and life priorities change over time. Things might be good for a few years, but a life-changing experience like having children, the death of a loved one, or other life-altering events could easily change circumstances.

The vast majority of the time, it's because the company is already in dire financial straits and needs a bailout. If the company can't afford to keep things running, they'll either look for a bailout (typically in the form of acquisition) or they'll be forced to shut down and lay everybody off. If the company can't earn enough to pay its debts, employees, and overhead costs, it won't be in business for long.

That's really it. All acquisitions happen when either the first or the second requirement (or both) is no longer being met. Either the owners decide they want to sell or the company is in desperate need of money and must either sell or close. Many companies don't even get to secure a buyout, they often die because they can't find a buyer (or other new source of funding) and run out of money.

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Bloomberg is reporting that Saber Interactive, the developers reportedly working on a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is being sold by Embracer Group to a private investment group.

Embracer Group has been going through a massive restructuring that has seen hundreds of employees laid off and the shuttering of studios. This latest deal appears to be another part of that ongoing effort.

While the state of the Knights of the Old Republic remake is currently in question, Saber Interactive is slated to release a few games this year, including Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2, Toxic Commando, and Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game. It’s currently not known how the sale will affect their current projects, which also include Jurassic Park: Survival. 

According to Bloomberg’s source, the deal is worth $500 million. Saber was part of Embracer’s big buying spree. They purchased the company back in 2020 at a reported price of $525 million, which means a bit of a loss. Furthermore, Bloomberg is reporting that the price also “includes an option for Saber to bring along multiple Embracer subsidiaries.” While this might just be referring to Saber’s branches in other countries, there are other studios listed under them, such as 3DRealms and Tripwire.

It’s possible that more of these sales will happen as Embracer continues its efforts to restructure. During their previous fiscal reports, the corporation has stated that they are in “the final stretch” of their restructuring, but it’s currently unknown what else is planned.

The post KOTOR remake developer Saber Interactive to leave Embracer Group appeared first on Destructoid.