Kingdom Come: Deliverance Devs Bought by THQ Nordic

The Czech developer team at Warhorse Studios has been bought by the publisher THQ Nordic. The deal also included the developer's IP rights i.e. the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise.

Warhorse Studios in the hands of THQ Nordic.

IN A NUTSHELL:

THQ Nordic has acquired Warhorse Studios;
The transaction amounts to EUR 42.8 million;
Together with the team, THQ also took over the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise;
The developer is to operate under the same management and retain a great deal of creative freedom.

The Czech company Warhorse Studios - known for the creation of the historical RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance - was purchased by the publisher THQ Nordic. The subject of the agreement is 100% of shares. It also includes the developer's intellectual property, including the rights to the KC:D franchise. The initial purchase price was EUR 42.8 million, which corresponds to EUR 33.2 million in cash and without debt. EUR 2.4 million of the amount was paid to the developers in the form of THQ Nordic shares.

“Becoming part of THQ Nordic family is an important milestone for our studio. We began as a small start-up with a handful of employees who were enthusiastic enough to join this challenging project. The skills of our team members, trust and support of our main investor and passion of our fans, who supported development of Kingdom Come: Deliverance through a Kickstarter campaign, helped us grow to an international level. We believe that backing by THQ Nordic will give us an extra push in our mission to bring exciting games to our customers and extend the frontiers of the gaming industry,” says Martin Frývalský, CEO Warhorse Studios.

The studio will work under the aegis of Koch Media, but will continue to operate independently. The founders Daniel Vavra and Martin Klima will retain their posts, as will the company's CEO.

”Warhorse Studios is one of the leading independent studios in Europe and I am proud to welcome them to the THQ Nordic group. Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which has now sold over 2 million copies, has been a great success since the release exactly one year ago. I look forward to continue working with the founders who will continue managing the studio under strong creative freedom for many years to come", says Lars Wingefors, CEO of THQ Nordic AB.

THQ Nordic is consistently expanding its publishing catalogue and seems to be very interested in historical RPG games - in November last year the company acquired the second big brand of this type, Expeditions, developed by Logic Artists studio. Recently, the Swede's shopping list also includes franchises from a completely different field, such as Carmageddon or Outcast.

So far, the only game from Warhorse Studios is Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The game enables us to play the role of one Henry - the son of a blacksmith from a small village - as we explore a part of medieval Bohemia torn apart by a turbulent conflict. The production gathered solid reviews and sold very well. In January, the developers suggested that they were working on continuation. It remains to be hoped that in this case THQ Nordic will be able to avoid controversies similar to those that accompany the upcoming Metro Exodus shooter.