Publisher Focus Home Interactive has acquired its first studio in Deck13 Interactive, the German team behind The Surge franchise. Focus Home made the purchase for €7.1 million (approximately $7.9 million USD); there’s also a “long-term incentive plan” in place for studio managers.
The publisher announced the news in a press release concerning its fiscal year 2019-2020 financials. According to John Bert, Chief Operating Officer at Focus Home, the Deck13 acquisition should “further strengthen [the publisher’s] IP control strategy.”
As a noted development studio in Germany, Deck13 boasts a total of 60 staff members. In the 20 years since its founding, the company has shipped more than 20 games to market. Recent years have seen Deck13 achieve considerable success, courtesy of The Surge franchise published by Focus Home. In fact, the press release notes that as of December 31, 2019, The Surge series has earned an impressive €5.5 million in revenue (about $6.1 million USD). The Surge’s most recent entry, The Surge 2, hit stores shelves in September of 2019.
Focus Home Interactive further hinted at its forthcoming plans. Two of its published titles are set to launch in the coming months, for instance. Such projects include the July release of tactical RPG Othercide and Necromunda: Underhive Wars, which will roll out this fall.
The publisher plans to soon unveil first details about several upcoming games, including an “extremely ambitious” title from Sackboy: A Big Adventure developer Sumo Digital. Apparently, Sumo Digital’s Focus Home-published venture is an online co-op game that takes place in an “ultra-violent fantasy world.” It’s on track to arrive in the final quarter of fiscal year 2020-2021.
[Source: Focus Home Interactive via Gematsu]
