Beamdog Acquired By Porting And Remake Specialists Aspyr

Beamdog, best known for its enhanced editions of classic Infinity Engine RPGs, has been bought by porting and remake specialist Aspyr


Published: April 13, 2022 10:11 AM /

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The Nameless One and party exploring in Planescape: Torment

Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition developer Beamdog has been bought by Aspyr, a subsidiary of the seemingly all-powerful Embracer Group (inside their Saber Interactive group). The two will collaborate together on Beamdog's upcoming original project MythForce, as well as future projects.

What do we know about the Aspyr Beamdog purchase?

Embracer Group is one of the gaming industry's biggest conglomerates, and it's well-known for its purchasing sprees. This time, however, just one company has been snapped up, and by an Embracer subsidiary. Beamdog is perhaps best known for its enhanced remakes and ports of classic Infinity Engine RPGs like Baldur's GateIcewind Dale, and the aforementioned Planescape: Torment. The first project from the two companies will be MythForce, an upcoming first-person roguelite inspired by 80s Saturday morning cartoons.

A shot of MythForce, an upcoming Beamdog and Aspyr collaboration
Beamdog and Aspyr will work together on upcoming Saturday morning cartoon-inspired roguelite MythForce.

Announcing the deal between the two companies on LinkedIn, Aspyr CEO Ted Staloch described Beamdog as "perfectly aligned" with his company, while Beamdog head Trent Oster says the purchase will "open up a ton of exciting opportunities" for his studio. Staloch's comments aren't just PR bluster, either; the two companies do have a lot in common. Aspyr is currently working on a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake, and as chance would have it, Beamdog themselves once pitched a KotOR remake. Oster has said he's sad that the pitch failed, but that he's confident in Aspyr's ability to create something worthwhile. Now, it looks like the two companies may have the chance to work more closely on the KotOR remake than they previously thought.

Embracer Group expands further

Embracer Group is a serious force to be reckoned with in the gaming world. While its acquisitions can't quite match the astonishing level of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard purchase, there are a huge number of companies under the Embracer umbrella right now, including Asmodee, 3D Realms, Gearbox Software, and plenty more. Beamdog might be fairly small when considering some of Embracer's bigger acquisitions, but it's still not an insignificant purchase, and further demonstrates the group's remarkable clout in the industry.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a Gearbox (and therefore Embracer) game
Embracer is responsible for many major gaming projects, including the recent FPS-RPG hybrid Tiny Tina's Wonderlands.

Aspyr says that it will "collaborate closely" on MythForce with Beamdog, and that the two companies will work together on other projects in future as well. Whether this includes the aforementioned Knights of the Old Republic remake isn't clear yet, but it sounds like we might well see more original IPs emerging from Beamdog. As ever, we'll bring you more on this as soon as we get it. Until then, you can check out MythForce, which launches in Early Access on April 20th, over on the Epic Games Store.

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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for five years, and in those five years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph