Today it was announced that Aspyr Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Embracer’s Saber Interactive operative group, has entered into an agreement to acquire the video game studio Beamdog. Best known for bringing beloved Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment to desktops, tablets, and modern consoles, Beamdog will operate as an independent studio within Aspyr. The closing of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and other agreed-upon closing conditions.
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Founded in 2009 by former BioWare leads Trent Oster and Cameron Tofer, Beamdog is one of Canada’s most established game studios. Its team of 80 artists, designers, and developers has relationships with top licensors, including Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro, as well as an impressive catalogue of RPG titles. Through the acquisition, Aspyr will add a veteran North American development team, which will continue to be led by Oster.
The two companies will collaborate closely on Beamdog’s newly revealed MythForce, which Aspyr will publish as an early access title on the Epic Games Store on April 20, 2022. Inspired by beloved ‘80s cartoon franchises like Thundercats and He-Man, MythForce unites colorful swords and sorcery with gripping first-person combat in a rogue-lite adventure.
“Beamdog is a tremendously talented group that we’ve admired for a long time. Their development philosophy and studio vision are perfectly aligned with ours. We look forward to seeing them realize their ambition with MythForce while maximizing the long-term potential of an incredible archive of classic games,” said Ted Staloch, CEO of Aspyr Media.
“This acquisition will open up a ton of exciting opportunities for us. Beamdog can now focus our talent, efforts, and imagination on building the great games we want to play while properly looking after established fan-favorite RPGs. Beamdog’s first original IP is a fun-filled start to our studio’s next chapter,” said Beamdog CEO Trent Oster.
