THQ Nordic buys Piranha Bytes and Signs Contract With Metro Authors for an Unannounced AAA Project

THQ Nordic has acquired Piranha Bytes, the studio after having worked for games like Gothic or Risen. In addition, a Triple-A game will be released by 4A Games.

The economic terms of the agreement have not been made public, but it has been indicated that “the purchase price equals three years of what management’s estimated royalty payments to Piranha for upcoming titles would have been if the acquisition had not occurred.”

So, the purchase includes the studio as well as all trademark rights. How much THQ Nordic paid was not revealed. THQ Nordic has also confirmed that it has signed a contract with 4A Games (“Metro” series) to release an unannounced AAA project. THQ Nordic has also revealed that the company, which includes Deep Silver, is currently working on 80 games, with 48 titles not yet announced.

Piranha Bytes will continue to operate as an independent studio, so it will not be integrated into the rest of THQ Nordic’s infrastructure to maintain its creative freedom and work philosophy. THQ Nordic will be the exclusive publisher of its games.

Michael Ruve and Bjorn Pankratz, responsible for the studio, will keep their positions and all current owners will also maintain their positions in the structure of the development team.

Lars Wingefore, CEO of THQ Nordic, explained that “Piranha Bytes is one of the most iconic German game studios” and highlighted the strong catalog of its own intellectual properties.