As the German company gamigo AG announces, they have acquired the game company Trion Worlds. Trion Worlds is known for MMORPGs like Rift, Trove, and ArcheAge. They also publish Defiance 2050, an MMO shooter, and Atlas Reactor. There were reportedly massive layoffs during the acquisition.
Acquisition announced: According to various financial news services, the German gamigo AG has acquired “substantial assets” from Trion Worlds. As part of the deal, the buyer only takes on the assets with which they wish to continue the business.
The gamigo AG has acquired the majority of the assets and the platform. They will also take on employees from Trion Worlds and receive full publishing rights to the games.
The brands of the games from Trion Worlds will be taken over by a sister company and will be made available exclusively to gamigo AG worldwide.
Here are the figures regarding the deal:
- Management expects the Trion Worlds acquisition to generate revenue of $18 million in 2019.
- The gamigo AG anticipates a profit of $1 to $5 million before interest, taxes, and depreciation due to synergies and scaling effects.
How much did gamigo pay for Trion Worlds? The amount is said to be in the “low double-digit millions,” meaning more than $10 million.
Who is gamigo? It is a publisher for browser games and MMOs based in Hamburg. They publish games like Fiesta Online or Last Chaos. In 2016 they merged with Aeria Games (Echo of Souls) to become a “new player” in online gaming.
Layoffs at Trion Worlds – 175 out of 200 employees gone
How many remain at Trion Worlds? According to Gamasutra, there was a mass layoff at Trion Worlds. Of the originally 200 employees, only 25 are said to remain now. This information comes from an anonymous source. The figure is not yet confirmed.
This is what Trion Worlds says: Trion Worlds does not provide numbers, but states that “many of the names and faces known from the studio will make the transition, while others will not embark on the journey.”
They are forever grateful to all who are leaving Trion Worlds for their work.
In the Rift forum there is an official statement to reassure concerned fans. It states that there will be a “transition phase.” Layoffs are reportedly planned.
It is said, however, that the games should continue, as they are in “capable hands.” They are currently working on a smooth transition and will provide more information as soon as possible.
This was announced by Linda “Brasse” Carlson, one of those who is being laid off. MassivelyOP reports this.
What about ArcheAge? The MMORPG ArcheAge intends to stick to the plan to release the major Patch 5.0 on Wednesday. That is at least the official announcement.
From Producer Khrolan (via ArcheAge forum) it sounds different: He says that much is in motion, and he does not rule out a delay of the important patch.
Trion Worlds – Studio in Crisis
This is what it’s about: It’s a relatively surprising piece of news. Many games at Trion Worlds have not developed favorably in recent years:
- In 2014, the Korean MMORPG ArcheAge was briefly a hit, but the studio could not maintain that success – Trion Worlds was not the developer here, just the publisher
- The MMORPG Rift has aged. In the last months, however, Prime servers made headlines. They turned the Free2Play MMORPG into a subscription game.
- The action MMO Devilian was shut down in its home country of South Korea just as Trion Worlds was bringing it to the West
- The MMO shooter Defiance came too late for PS3 and Xbox 360, the 2050 remake seems unlucky
- The genre-mix Atlas Reactor has not really made a mark
- As ansuccess game, only Trove is considered, which is aimed more at a young audience.
Already in July 2018, Trion Worlds had to let some employees go. It was said that they had to make the decision to better prepare for upcoming tasks.
The news is still tough now. It will be interesting to see how the story evolves in the coming weeks.
