Stockholm-based Starbreeze AB, the parent company of Payday 2 developer Starbreeze Studios, is making moves this month with acquisitions that will see it gain new staff, new IP, and a new virtual reality headset prototype known as Project StarVR.
The fact that Starbreeze is out there acquiring companies, people and projects is notable in light of the company’s financial history; Starbreeze swung to big profits last year on the back of Payday 2 after spending the prior 15 years racking up ~$14.4 million in losses.
The developer went on to secure investments from publisher 505 Games and offer $8.6 million to buy a new (and reportedly VR-capable) engine for its upcoming project, including the Walking Dead game currently in development by Starbreeze subsidiary Overkill Games.
Joining that development effort are a group of 20 developers that Starbreeze has brought on by acquiring Orange Grove Media; the company also got a new IP known as The Hunt: Assault on Mythos in the deal, which will see the new talent working on Payday 2 and The Walking Dead from a Starbreeze office in Los Angeles.
Not to be left out of the current VR race, Starbreeze also announced this week that it has acquired French VR company InfinitEye for an unspecificed sum and debuted its own VR headset under the name Project StarVR.
The landscape of entertainment is transforming and we strongly believe VR will be a big part of the story of our industry going forward,” stated Starbreeze chief Bo Andersson Klint in a press release confirming the acquisition. “Our StarVR aims at bringing the next generation entertainment experiences to reality.”
Starbreeze is showing its VR headset at E3 in Los Angeles this week, and has confirmed plans to support Valve’s OpenVR SDK on StarVR.
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