Thunderful acquires story-driven development studio Fizbin, expanding to eleven studios.
Thunderful announces the acquisition of independent and award-winning game developer Studio Fizbin by its subsidiary Headup.
Studio Fizbin was founded in 2011 by CEO Alexander Pieper and has two studios in Ludwigsburg and Berlin. The multiple award-winning developer created the critically acclaimed Say No More! and Minute of Islands is developing and working on a new action roguelike codenamed Project Kokidon.
Studio Fizbin has been collaborating with Thunderful for many years, which is associated with Say No More! has already released one of the studio’s previous titles. Studio Fizbin will become Thunderful’s eleventh studio, strengthening the company’s ability to develop its own IPs by drawing on a diverse array of talent.
Studio Fizbin will continue to work on his in-development action roguelike project, Kokidon, while retaining his creative freedom. The integration of Studio Fizbin also includes the acquisition of all IPs developed by the studio, such as Examples include the IGF-nominated Minute of Islands and the highly successful point-and-click series The Inner World.
“Studio Fizbin is the first studio we’ve moved from a publishing relationship to an acquisition with because of our strong partnership,” said Agostino Simonetta, Thunderful’s Chief Games Officer. “Expanding Thunderful’s studio roster through acquisitions is an important part of our business strategy as we look to grow our IP lineup. With Studio Fizbin joining Coatsink, JUMPSHIP, Early Morning Studio and our talents behind the SteamWorld franchise, we now have 11 studios to help unleash their creative vision and build strong IPs.”
“We are very excited to join Thunderful and to take our long-standing relationship to the next level,” said Alexander Pieper, co-founder and CEO of Studio Fizbin. “Being affiliated with a larger organization like Thunderful is a real benefit for our studio as we benefit from the support and infrastructure that Thunderful provides. We have full support to pursue our creative vision and can focus on making Project Kokidon and our future games the best we’ve ever released.”
“Studio Fizbin and Headup’s partnership dates back to the studio’s early days, so the acquisition is the next logical step in Studio Fizbin’s success story,” said Dieter Schoeller, CEO of Headup Games. “They have already developed a number of beautiful, humorous, intelligent and moving games and with two offices in Germany, one of them right in the center of the German capital Berlin, the team of 20 will harness the potential and capabilities of Thunderful in one of the strongest and most active markets and development landscapes on the continent.”