The Swedish publisher THQ Nordic buys the German development studio Piranha Bytes – and thus the creative minds behind the Gothic-series and Elex.
This isn't particularly surprising – the developers have often used this approach in the past. THQ Nordic They collaborated. With the acquisition, all brands are now also included. Piranha Bytes to the publisher. Lars Wingefors, Group CEO of THQ Nordic says they are looking forward to expanding their portfolio to include the role-playing fan favorites from Piranha Bytes' development studio:
“Piranha Bytes is one of the best-known German game studios and the creator of RPGs Gothic, Risen, and more recently, ELEX. These three strong IPs have proven successful and will be an excellent addition to our portfolio. We are delighted to welcome the Piranha team to the family, a studio that has achieved legendary status in the RPG community, as its fans appreciate its current games and eagerly anticipate its future new titles.”
Piranha Bytes It has existed since 1997 and is one of the better-known German development studios. According to [source/person], much has changed. THQ NordicHowever, the acquisition will not change this in the future: the developers will remain independent, it was stated. They have founded their own limited liability company (GmbH) and will continue to develop their games with creative freedom – the publisher will support them and handle marketing and sales. All developers will also retain their positions. Piranha Bytes-CEO Michael Rüve and chief developer Björn Pankratz included.
80 games in development
THQ Nordic is now one of the largest publishers in Europe and, according to its own statements, is working on 80 games across all developers. 48 of these have not yet been officially announced, including a project from Metro-Maker 4A Games.
