Having been working together to get The Lord of the Rings: Gollum out later this year, publisher Nacon and studio Daedalic Entertainment are now closer than ever before, with the former acquiring the latter for €53 million.
As part of the deal, Nacon will be folding several key intellectual properties into their library, while also being able to count on the publishing and development expertise of Daedalic. At the same time, Daedalic will continue to strengthen its position as a leading independent publisher.
“After eventful years in which we always came out on top, I feel proud looking back at the past 15 years and the development of the company. Daedalic Entertainment has established itself as a publisher and developer of exceptional games across various genres and on all relevant platforms and has cemented that position globally,” Carsten Fichtelmann, founder and CEO of Daedalic Entertainment, said.
“Together with Nacon, we are now taking the next step to further develop our catalogue of games created by our own team as well as many incredible indie studios. We are looking back at a trusting and cooperative collaboration on The Lord of the Rings™: Gollum and forward to an even brighter future together.”
Fichtelmann and Stephan Harms, COO, will still be leading the company after the acquisition, with Nacon helping to support future projects in the areas of sales, publishing, and marketing. However, it is vital to note that eventually, Nacon will obtain 100% of the share capital and voting rights of Daedalic, which will give the former the final say in future matters.
“We knew, through our current collaboration on Gollum, that Nacon and Daedalic share the same values and the same objectives to deliver unique experiences to gamers. Therefore, it seemed logical to go further together and we’re extremely happy with this acquisition. It represents a significant step in Nacon’s strategy.” says Alain Falc, Chairman and CEO of NACON.
This acquisition also represents Nacon’s biggest play ever in the industry, which also ups its stable of studios to 16 in less than four years time.