THQ Nordic has acquired Gunfire Games, the studio behind the Darksiders franchise. It seems like a natural fit, considering THQ Nordic published Darksiders 3 and picked up the rights to the franchise after their parent company, THQ, went bankrupt. Lars Wingefors, CEO of THQ Nordic, said the move will increase the Austrian company’s U.S. presence.

“With the acquisition of Gunfire Games we are strengthening THQ Nordic’s footprint in the US and are adding an experienced and talented development team that we know very well from having collaborated on Darksiders,” Wingefors said in a press release.

Gunfire Games was originally founded by alumni developers of Vigil Games, which was also owned by THQ before it went bankrupt. Vigil Games was responsible for the first two entries in the Darksiders series. According to the press release, Gunfire Games will remain a fully independent studio with complete creative freedom.

Gunfire Games is the third studio to be bought by THQ Nordic this year. The studio previously bought Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer Warhorse Studios back in February and Gothic developer Piranha Bytes in May. In 2018 the studio bought Bugbear Entertainment and Coffee Stain Studios. Most notably however, the publisher purchased Koch Media, the parent company of Deep Silver for $149 million.

Related: THQ Nordic Secures New Shareholders; Intends To Acquire More Franchises, Studios

The purchase price was not announced, but THQ Nordic said it expects to recoup its investment “over the course of 3-4 years.” In addition to Darksiders, Gunfire Games is also known for VR titles, such as Chronos, which is supported by Oculus Rift. Their upcoming game Remnant: From the Ashes will release on Tuesday.

THQ Nordic now has the rights to over 100 franchises including Saints Row, Goat Simulator, Dead Island, Metro, TimeSplitters, Satisfactory, MX series, and many more.

via: denofgeek.com

THQ Nordic also announced they’ll be changing the company’s name to Embracer Group in September. Embracer Group will be the parent company of Deep Silver, Coffee Stain, and THQ Nordic GmbH, which will all operate independently.

While they may not be as large as EA, THQ Nordic’s startling rate of acquiring companies and franchises is quickly putting them into a great place of power within the video game industry. We’re curious to see what they acquire next, and what they make going forward. For starters, we’re crossing our fingers for the announcement of Darksiders 4, but in the meantime we have Darksiders Genesis to look forward to.

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