British publisher Team17 has made two new acquisitions. The first is World War II shooter IP Hell Let Loose, which debuted on PC and consoles last year. The second is mobile publisher The Label, whose name you might know from games like What The Golf and The Legend of Bum-Bo.
What do we know about these new Team17 acquisitions?
According to a press release, Team17 purchased the Hell Let Loose IP to the tune of around £31 million (which works out at about $27.4 million), with a further £15 million on the table dependent on the game meeting revenue performance targets. The purchase will be the first new IP under "a new core gaming label", which will presumably be unveiled at a later date. If you haven't played Hell Let Loose, it's a realistic multiplayer FPS set in World War II. It debuted in Steam Early Access in 2019, launching in full on PC in July last year and on consoles in October. It's worth noting that Team17 was already the publisher on Hell Let Loose, but it now owns the IP in totality. This acquisition doesn't extend to Hell Let Loose developer Black Matter, though.
As well as Hell Let Loose, Team17 also purchased The Label, a mobile publishing outfit based in San Francisco. You might have seen The Label's name on comedy golf sim What The Golf, which launched for iOS and PC back in 2019. The Label's other partners include The Legend of Bum-Bo developer Edmund McMillen, as well as mobile titles like Lineweight and Other Side. This acquisition's initial value is $24 million, with up to $16 million also available based on performance. Team17 says this acquisition is part of its push to "extend its reach" into the mobile sphere. The Label will form part of Team17's existing Games imprint.
What do these acquisitions mean for Team17?
In addition to publishing details of these acquisitions, Team17 also released information about its 2021 financial year. The company says its revenue will be "ahead of management's expectations" and will beat 2020's revenue total. This means the studio is expecting 2022 to be even better. We won't hear exactly how well Team17 did last year until March, but it'll be heartening for the company that it managed to top 2020's revenue.
We'll have to wait and see what these acquisitions mean for Team17 in a practical sense. In the meantime, you can grab Hell Let Loose on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Team17 says it's also exploring the idea of creating new media with the Hell Let Loose IP, including further DLC, ongoing support for the game's service elements, and "potential sequels". With all these acquisitions and its strong financial performance, Team17's setting itself up as a regular British Embracer Group (only without the avalanche of high-profile studios coming in). Stay tuned for more.
Would you like to see a sequel to Hell Let Loose? Let us know in the comments below!
