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The Rise and Fall of Embracer (aka THQ Nordic)

Bocian

Arcane
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
1,912


Out of all of those I think GUN might be a realistic choice, especially if RDR2 rekindles interested in Wild West as a setting. It always struck me as underrated for some reason.

Gun-Game-For-PC-raishahnawaz-com-6.jpg


In any case good job with amassing all those licenses, Nordic. Now let's wait and see if they're content just sitting on them.

This is a consolized, popamole shit that looks like shit and plays like shit. At least RDR is a pleasure to look at and has decent voice acting.
 

Alpan

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Patron
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Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
Can someone more knowledgeable give me the rundown on how exactly THQ Nordic/Nordic Games has become so influential in the AA space within such a relatively short period of time as, say, 5-6 years?

I know that they've been buying discarded IPs for relatively cheap for years, but that doesn't mean all of the games associated with those IPs have such long tails that Nordic makes a profit or breaks even on all of them. Obviously for all the exposure they have recently been enjoying in the media, their total turnover is still peanuts compared to ye olde publishing giants, but it's still interesting that we don't hear this sort of news from say, Devolver Digital (which has had multiple hits released so far including Hotline Miami, the Shadow Warrior games etc).

Of course maybe it's just that Nordic has (correctly) identified the gap in the market for AA scale games (which are perhaps the most prone to abandonment) and decided they'd be the ones consolidating. And though it's commonplace to hear about development studios collapsing, publishing probably is a fundamentally profitable enterprise in a world of digital distribution such that you can survive and grow as long as you don't do stupid shit.
 
Self-Ejected

unfairlight

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Can someone more knowledgeable give me the rundown on how exactly THQ Nordic/Nordic Games has become so influential in the AA space within such a relatively short period of time as, say, 5-6 years?
As Nordic Games they basically just churned out shovelware and casual games, they didn't do anything that spectacular. As THQ Nordic they have invested the money they made off of shovelware into buying up old IPs and rereleasing the games under those IPs and making mad money in the process for essentially zero investment (because who cares about all those old IPs amirite), and they use that money to invest into smaller European AA productions that aren't really trying to copy the latest AAA trash and instead do their own thing and filling a gap in the market.
The owner of THQ Nordic, Lars, also has investor buddies. If I recall correctly, the Swedish bank Swedbank also holds like 6% stock in THQ Nordic.
THQ Nordic also does physical publishing, but I think the physical publishing sector of THQ Nordic merged with Deep Silver's physical publishing sector after they bought them out.
 

Latelistener

Arcane
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
2,579
I only want a new Red Faction game, so I wanted Nordic (who bought the rights on the franchise) to also buy Volition from Deep Silver. What they did instead? Bought the whole Koch Media.

:shredder:
 

Siveon

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Red Faction 1 and 2 on PC would be cool. I'm only interested in the FPS titles.
 
Self-Ejected

Harry Easter

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Hmm, sad that Spellforce 3 turned out so buggy. Would've been cool to see more from that franchise again. At least we have Desperados 3 and Elex 2 to wait for. A knew Aquanox would also be cool to be honest (this time with better storytelling).
 

Baron Dupek

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1,870,765
Hmm, sad that Spellforce 3 turned out so buggy. Would've been cool to see more from that franchise again. At least we have Desperados 3 and Elex 2 to wait for. A knew Aquanox would also be cool to be honest (this time with better storytelling).

New Aquanox was announced 1-3 years ago and there is radio silence since then, there were screenshots, some videos maybe and maybe PAX (or else) presentations, nothing else since then.
Wonder what happened.
 

Latelistener

Arcane
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
2,579
They actually own Jagged Alliance, although I think it's a bit too late. No one remembers how to make a proper tactical game anymore. Even if they wanted to make a good product, I can't think of a single studio for the task.
 
Unwanted

a Goat

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Dumbfuck Edgy Vatnik
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They actually own Jagged Alliance, although I think it's a bit too late. No one remembers how to make a proper tactical game anymore. Even if they wanted to make a good product, I can't think of a single studio for the task.
They are making new jagged alliance. There is a problem though...
 

Latelistener

Arcane
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
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They actually own Jagged Alliance, although I think it's a bit too late. No one remembers how to make a proper tactical game anymore. Even if they wanted to make a good product, I can't think of a single studio for the task.
They are making new jagged alliance. There is a problem though...
Yeah I know, but it reeks of decline. It's not the problem though, the problem is that I don't know if you can do better today.
 

Modron

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9,930

Latelistener

Arcane
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May 25, 2016
Messages
2,579
Yeah I know, but it reeks of decline. It's not the problem though, the problem is that I don't know if you can do better today.
A Finn has been plugging away on something that will hopefully rival JA 2 for years now, End State in case you weren't aware: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...turn-based-tactics-by-finnish-lunatic.101444/

Check out the feature trailer on steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/580640/End_State/
I actually saw a news post somewhere about this game recently (because of that trailer I assume), but thought it's another 2AP nuXCOM clone and didn't pay attention. Maybe there is still hope.
 

LESS T_T

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Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
http://www.stainlessgames.com/news/thq-nordic-ab-announces-acquisition-carmageddon-ip

THQ Nordic AB announces acquisition of Carmageddon IP

3 December 2018

Dec 3rd 2018, Vienna, Austria and Newport, Isle of Wight, UK.

Today, THQ Nordic AB announced the closing of the acquisition of the Carmageddon intellectual property from Stainless Games Ltd at an undisclosed purchasing price.

“This deal allows Carmageddon to find the home that it deserves”, declared Patrick Buckland, Executive Chairman and Founder of Stainless. “As an independent developer we have invested a huge amount of time and money into the brand since reacquiring it in 2012, but we have never had the resources to maximise its exploitation. It is our intention to work with THQ Nordic moving forwards, allowing Carmageddon to find its rightful place in the video games pantheon.”

“Carmageddon finally crashed its way into our portfolio. Some pedestrians and a couple of members of the Bovinae subfamily might have (virtually) been killed in the process” added Jan Binsmaier, Publishing Director at THQ Nordic. “With over twenty years of franchise history, and yes, I feel a little older just saying this, and such a passionate and dedicated fan-base worldwide, we are confident we hit the right target.”

Buckland added “This is the start of a new chapter in the story of one of the world’s most anarchic game brands”. Binsmaier concluded by observing that “We are proud of every single addition to the franchise catalogue, so it goes without saying that this is the case here, too”.
 

typical user

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Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
957
Jesus Christ - Carmageddon, Saint's Row, Darksiders, Red Faction, Jagged Alliance and Kingdoms of Amalur. I hope they are not to slack off and will make some fine games. I like them for their balance between AAA and Indie approach to gamedev (because they are OG THQ and employ studios which used to be Deepsilver territory like Piranha Bytes with ELEX). Their products are rough diamonds, filled with passion although lacking. It's a rarity considering bastardisation of the whole genre and corpo-fucks who look at charts and oversimplify once great series into something which feels like chore with micro-transactions on top.
 
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Perkel

Arcane
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Mar 28, 2014
Messages
15,801
This looks like a stock pyramid scheme. Buy shit to show stock how good you are and pay debts by new money generated by releasing new bonds. Rinse and repeat.

This is pretty much how Tesla operates. But Tesla tries to gets into super profteable market as leader and make truckloads of money while THQ nordic buys corpses that barely can pay for their bills because their games barely sell.

When stocks mad rush will stop and 1000+ people will need to get paid whole thing will collapse while owners will just cash in and run away with all ips transferred into second company which is private. Both creditors and stock owners will be able to make a campfire out of bill and stock.

I wish i could be this amazing.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
A long interview thing with CEO: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-06-people-of-the-year-2018-lars-wingefors

People of the Year 2018: Lars Wingefors
We speak to the CEO behind 2018's fastest-growing publisher about its ongoing acquisition spree and honouring THQ's legacy

If the old THQ was the prime example of how a games business can completely collapse, THQ Nordic surely is a textbook on how to build a new one.

Previously Nordic Games, the rapidly-growing publisher rebranded two years to match the more recognised but defunct firm from which it had already acquired so much intellectual property. In 2018, its expansion ramped up considerably, not only adding more franchises to its portfolio, but also entire studios and publishers.

In case you haven't been keeping up, THQ Nordic's acquisitions this year have included... (deep breath)... Carmageddon; Coffee Stain, including their three internal studios, plus various IP such as Goat Simulator and Sanctum; Bugbear Entertainment and the Wreckfest IP; the Expeditions series; Alone in the Dark; Act of War; Kingdoms of Amalur; TimeSplitters; Second Sight; developer HandyGames, plus its IP such as Townsmen and Aces of Luftwaffe; and, of course, Koch Media and Deep Silver, including their three internal studios, 800 employees, the Dead Island and Saints Row IP, plus the licence for Metro.

And the publisher isn't stopping there.

Sitting with his hand steadily on the tiller is CEO Lars Wingefors, who points to 2018 as the year THQ Nordic truly showed its hand.

"I told everyone that we would do acquisitions and organically invest in our own development, and this year we've started to see the first fruits from that," he tells GamesIndustry.biz.

"Many things have happened this year. I told everyone from the beginning that this would all take time - it takes time to develop games, at least three years - so it's been great to show our stakeholders, whether that's employees, shareholders or the industry, that we've started delivering."

By far the standout acquisition has been the €121 million purchase of Koch Media -- and one that has most definitely paid off. In the first quarter after the acquisition, the addition of Koch's games to the balance sheet saw revenues increase by 673% -- in the most recent financials, this rocketed to 1,403%. Profits are also up, rising by 65% year-on-year in Q3 and almost tripling year-on-year for January 1 to September 30, up 179.5%.

Koch's portfolio is even outperforming that of its new parent, although Wingefors says he has no plans to merge the two.

"They are working together in terms of distribution and discussing whether we could explore IPs - Koch can explore THQ IPs and we can explore some of theirs. So there are many things going on as brothers and sisters, but they are totally running their own business and I firmly believe in that strategy, not creating one big organisation. Because that's a big business risk and it's very easy to destroy a lot of value and people's willingness to enjoy their work when you start micromanaging and cutting things."

He continues: "In terms of revenues, I haven't set targets that either of them need to be meeting. I think we can all prosper within the same group -- and now we have Coffee Stain on board, that gives us a third leg when it comes to games. God knows, one day there might be a fourth."

The addition of Koch's portfolio also elevated THQ Nordic as a publishers. Saints Row, in particular, is a hugely popular IP, while the upcoming Metro Exodus is a far larger title -- both in terms of scale and investment -- than anything the firm has produced before, shifting it towards the upper end of the mid-range in which it sits and potentially closer to AAA.

Yet the properties it has acquired continue to vary in scope and appeal. The Expeditions IP caters entirely to fans of squad-based tactical RPGs, while Goat Simulator is a notably more accessible and free-form affair.


Lars Wingefors started the company with just seven people but has since grown it to nearly 2,000. Photo: Claes Thirmar

Wingefors tells us this is intentional, as he is actively avoiding the 'fewer, bigger, better' strategy -- one that the previous THQ adopted in its waning years -- that has contributed to the downfall of publishers past.

"We have the opposite strategy, not concentrating on a few IPs but looking at a very diversified pipeline," he says. "All these labels like AAA, AA, indie - I'm not looking at things from that perspective, I think we need to stay focused on the daily business."

It might appear that THQ Nordic is simply snapping up any properties it can get its hands on, but Wingefors maintains that "we have a very clear strategy of what we want". Not only that, but there are plenty of developers and publishers that have expressed interest in being acquired as well because they "think they could prosper within our group".

Such was the case for Bugbear and Coffee Stain, Wingefors tells us, adding that nothing identifies a promising potential acquisition like a publishing relationship.

"You sign them as a publisher, then you get to know them for a number of years and then sometimes we welcome them to the group," he says.

"We don't have to buy everything, we don't have to own everything. There are so many great, great game companies out there in the world but I think they might have a price expectation or valuation driven by financial markets that makes them too big a business risk for us to put on our balance sheets. That's why I'm keen to have a very broad acquisition strategy. My ambition is to slowly build something substantial that will be sustainable for a very long time."

But given the rate at which THQ Nordic is growing, is there not a danger that such a vast publishing business could become unsustainable? Wingefors doesn't believe so -- in fact, he cites this as another reason for not merging Koch or Coffee Stain into their parent.

"Each publishing division sets their own pace as to how much they could organically grow, whether that's by development or by acquisitions within their own divisions," he says. "I prefer building the group through publishing divisions because it's a very efficient way for me to run the business and to allocate capital and create shareholder value."

Of course, it's one thing to acquire properties and another to do something with that investment. To begin with, THQ Nordic has mostly concentrated on straight ports and even a handful of remasters for the more popular brands in its library. De Blob, Red Faction and Titan Quest all returned to shelves this year in some form, while Darksiders received its first sequel in six years.

Wingefors has already told us that the development of a new Darksiders was "fairly quick" and that: "Out of the more than 100 IPs we own, you shouldn't expect sequels from all of them because not all IPs are relevant any more."

Expanding on this, he says: "Creating a new sequel [in certain genres] might be very difficult. Not only can that be difficult, we'd also be trying to bring back the old creators of the IP, and they might be locked into various studios or situations [for years]. That's why we're acquiring a good number of IPs, because it takes a long time to execute on it and you need a lot of them to start having a pipeline.

"My aim is definitely to continue acquiring IPs -- and I personally have a deep love for many of these old games. Collecting them all together makes sense and we have shown fans that we are actually able to do something with them. Although, some fans are impatient and want us to put out new content very quickly."

Managing fan expectations is "always a challenge with IPs", Wingefors says, adding that taking franchises forwards without the original developers behind the wheel is going to be a hurdle THQ Nordic will regularly have to overcome in the future. The problem with franchises that have been absent for many years is everyone waiting for its return wants a different thing.

"You could see that from Darksiders -- some fans prefer Darksiders 1, some prefer Darksiders 2 and we tried to do something different but still recognisable for the old fans," says Wingefors. "I think it would be the same for De Blob or Red Faction, it's all partly because people have great memories from their childhood of an IP. It's like having a memory of an old film or TV series. But not everything has aged very well -- you need to make different gameplay to make it a relevant product, and that's challenging because you can face some very loud opinions on social media when you're trying to change something.


Darksiders III has been a crucial test for THQ Nordic, as it's the first new titles it has developed from one of the 100-plus IPs acquired over the past few years


"This is why it takes time. We need time to understand the IP really well, we need to talk to fans and the old creators -- perhaps they can't join the team, but they can give us some input. We also need to find people who are passionate about the IP -- there are a lot of developers out there who really like IPs, such as Titan Quest or Darksiders amongst many others."

The rate at which THQ Nordic has been acquiring dormant IP might seem an expensive endeavour -- particularly if the publisher isn't planning on creating new products with all of them -- but Wingefors assures that, "we haven't paid a monstrous amount for any IP."

The remasters and ports released so far are "meeting their financial expectations" and the cash flow is helping to fund other projects, even in small ways. The CEO also views them as "long-term investments", pointing to Red Faction Guerilla ReMarstered as an example of a "product that we can update and put it out on new generations for many years to come."

With 55 titles in development -- 35 of which have yet to be announced, plus whichever products will be added through Coffee Stain's development and publishing pipelines -- it's something of an understatement when Wingefors tells us THQ Nordic has a "very wide range of games" on the horizon.

The amount of IP THQ Nordic has acquired means the company could very comfortably become a catalogue business, one living off sales of remasters and remakes -- yet Wingefors has demonstrated he's determined to keep pushing the business forward.

At a time when we're losing count of how many new publishers are emerging, regardless of their focus or chosen niche, video games is becoming an increasingly competitive environment -- especially beyond the realm of AAA blockbusters. Having a hefty portfolio of well-known and well-loved IP under your belt gives you as good a chance to thrive as any, but actually capitalising on those properties and demonstrating how you plan to take them forward is the key to keeping those pre-established audiences interested in your product.

In 2018, Wingefors and his team has most certainly demonstrated that and show no signs of resting on their success thus far.

"We can't just say that we're happy with what we've got," he concludes. "We need to continue delivering new products -- whether they are remasters, remakes or sequels -- in order to continue selling the old content.

"I don't think we'd have the success as a company if we just had the strategy of acquiring IPs and not making any new content. The receptions from either fans, industry or platform holders wouldn't be the same. Now everyone understands it's a process: we bring out the old content and sell it, and then we make a new version if we think there's demand and we can find the right developers. I hope that fans understand this better now."
 
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DeepOcean

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
7,394
They are making something like 35 games now accordingly to some sources and the best news is that most of them aren't online microtransaction riddled bullshit, maybe some real incline will come from them. Spellforce 3 and ELEX were fine games and they seem to be focusing on single player games, they are shaping to be the publisher I have most hope for (and fear that this crash and burn and they become a mini Activision like the rest.).
 

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