Today, Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios has been acquired by Embracer Group, better known by their former name as THQ Nordic.
Little Nightmares is a game in which the main character (you) is confronted by their childhood fears. It is an atmospheric puzzle platformer that is currently sporting an 89% positive review rating on Steam, it is also currently available for 75% off during the Steam Winter sale, if anyone is interested.
Embracer Group also owns THQ Nordic, Koch Media, and Coffee Stain. For this purchase, Embracer Group spent SEK 99 million, with SEK 88 million ($9.34 million) in cash SEK 11 million ($1.17 million) in B-shares. There is also an option for a buy-out included in the transaction, but it is payable over ten years and only to those who "will remain with Tarsier."
The deal encompasses all 65 Tarsier employees and gives Embracer control of Tarsier's intellectual property rights. This does not include the Little Nightmares brand (which is owned by Bandai Namco) and Stretchers (which belongs to Nintendo). The company itself will remain autonomous within a group called Goodbye Kansas Game Invest, which was also bought up earlier in 2019.
Tarsier Studios will be working on new IPs for Embracer once their current development cycles have finished, which includes Little Nightmares 2 for Bandai Namco.
Quick Take:
I've been following THQ's progress with great interest over the past few years. The game industry could do with a little shaking up, so I really don't mind this mega-publisher in the making. The fact that they are going after smaller studios is neat, and games released from under their umbrella have mostly been pretty decent. We'll see how this turns out later, but for now I don't mind this.
What do you think of this news? Are you looking forward to Little Nightmares 2? Do you like how THQ is gathering tons of middling game developers under their banner? Let us know in the comments!
