Quirky indie publisher Devolver Digital has announced that it has acquired Astroneer developer System Era.
Devolver says that “almost a decade of mutual admiration and friendship” has led to this deal, which will help both teams to explore their “new ambitions” together.
The partnership almost began “over eight years ago”, according to a System Era blog post, when Devolver nearly signed up to publish space sandbox adventure Astroneer.
It didn’t pan out then, but System Era says that in the intervening years, Devolver has become “a standard bearer in the industry for indie development”.
That, according to System Era, is what made the publisher “a natural match for us”.
Per a press release, this acquisition is valued at “up to $40 million”, with $22m due as “initial consideration”. The deal will be split between cash and shares.
This is the latest Devolver acquisition in a string that also includes Enter the Gungeon developer Dodge Roll and The Talos Principle studio Croteam.
It comes at an interesting time for Devolver; the studio’s latest financial results showed a decline owing to game delays and a relatively sparse release slate for the first half of 2023.
However, Devolver did say it expected a “return to profitable growth in 2024”, and adding System Era to its studio roll call could well contribute to that.
If you’re wondering what this means for Astroneer, rest assured that System Era very much intends to carry on business as usual when it comes to the space sandbox.
The studio says it will “keep going on as before, only stronger” with Astroneer, and that its upcoming roadmap of 2024 updates will remain in place.
We’ll have to wait and see what Devolver’s partnership with System Era will mean, or what the “new ambitions” both studios have will result in. Stay tuned for more.
