Starbreeze to Buy Payday Developer Overkill Software
by William D'Angelo, posted on 21 April 2012 / 1,746 Views
The Swedish based studio, Starbreeze, is taking the steps to buy Overkill Software, the studio behind Payday: The Heist. Starbreeze needs to sell 200 million new shares, set to be released around June 15 of this year. The deal would include all of Overkill's IPs and it will open up a new Starbreeze office on Stockholm.
"Starbreeze and Overkill are two unique FPS studios," said Overkill's creative director Ulf Andersson in a statement, translated from the Swedish. "Starbreeze has graphical emphasis, and Overkill has total focus on innovative gameplay. Together we form a unique constellation of creative forces. With two strong technology platforms and extensive experience in major productions, we become an unbeatable team."
"If you look at any successful studio out there, they own IP, they have done their own games," said Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermak, in an interview with Games Industry. "Look at Valve, Epic, Crytek. They believed in their own ideas, they had a lot of passion for what they did, and they succeeded. To be a successful studio you have to take charge of your own destiny by owning your own IP."
"I don't think big publishers are resistant to new IP," Nermak added. "They just want to see something new. We are always asking what innovation can we bring to games; what's new that we can bring to the table. We just need to try harder. If you look at AAA games today most are quite similar, and I think we can do much, much more."
Nermak made sure to state that Starbreeze is not going to abandon the hardcore gamers with this acquisition. "We're not going to leave AAA or hardcore gaming. That's what bought us into the industry and we love to do those. But to keep a sustainable business and to cater to the studio's needs, we want to broaden our experience and move into new areas. We need to understand the whole market, rather than just a part of it."
