nDreams acquired for $110 million, 'exciting projects' in the works
UK-based nDreams closes one of the largest studio acquisition deals in VR history for nearly $110 million.
The British studio has specialized in VR games since 2013. It has developed titles such as Phantom: Covert Ops, Fracked, Synapse and most recently Ghostbuster: Rise of The Ghost Lord, and published VR games such as Little Cities and PowerWash Simulator VR. Currently, nDreams has four development studios with a total of 250 employees, making it one of the largest VR game developers in the world.
Swedish gaming group Aonic has now acquired the studio for nearly $110 million. Other studio acquisitions in recent years are those of Coatsink ($25 million) and Vertigo Games ($50 million). Since 2019, Meta has acquired 9 VR studios for undisclosed amounts, and the acquisition of Supernatural developer Within reportedly cost the company $400 million.
nDreams CEO sees "critical moment for VR and MR"
Aonic describes itself as a "diversified video gaming group" that aims to become the "next gaming powerhouse" by supporting "high-quality, mid-sized teams". The group owns Warren Spector's OtherSide Entertainment, Milky Tea, Exmox and TutoTOONS, among others. Aonic invested $35 million in nDreams in early 2022 and received a minority stake.
“After 18 months of working together, we’re confident we’ve found the right partner in Aonic," said CEO Patrick O'Luanaigh. "This is the right moment to welcome their support to strengthen our position even further, and seize this critical moment for VR and MR.”
The co-founders Patrick and Tamsin O’Luanaigh will remain in their positions and the core focus of nDreams will remain unchanged, while benefiting from a stable and supportive environment to continue growing, the company said. "The investment will facilitate nDreams’ future investments in third-party publishing and, potentially, more studio acquisitions."
The studios writes that more exciting projects are being worked on across all four nDreams development studios and that exciting announcements are on the horizon for 2024 and beyond.
The deal shows increased confidence in the development of the VR market, which sends a positive signal to the entire industry and other independent VR studios looking to succeed in this nascent market.
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