Just Cause and Mad Max developer Avalanche Studios has new ownership. Danish entertainment company Nordisk Film has acquired Avalanche for a total of 117 million euros ($136 million). This is part of Nordisk Film’s strategy to invest more in game developers in the Nordic region — and bringing in the Stockholm-based Avalanche is a big move toward executing on that plan.
Nordisk Film first acquired a minority stake in Avalanche in 2017. The companies have worked together since then, and that partnership went so well that Avalanche spent 84 million euros ($98 million) to take control of the remaining shares.
Avalanche Studios is working with American publisher Bethesda Softworks on the upcoming open-world action adventure Rage 2. Avalanche chief executive Pim Holfve says that the developer will continue its current projects but now it will do so with Nordisk Film’s secure financial backing.
“We have had a fantastic year with Nordisk Film as part of Avalanche Studios,” said Holfve. “We’ve grown and matured at a pace which was previously not possible. Even though we’ll continue to operate as an independent studio, Nordisk Film will – with a century of experience from growing creative businesses – provide us with a more solid foundation. I could not be happier to have them on-board.”
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Avalanche opened its doors in 2003. It is best known for creating the Just Cause series, which are open world action games with a focus on wild fun as opposed to accurate real-world physics. Just Cause 2 surpassed 6 million copies sold, according to Avalanche cofounder and chief creative officer Christopher Sundberg.
The studio has also expanded into publishing with games like TheHunter. Now under Nordisk, Avalanche’s founders and executives want to build on all of its business opportunities.
“This is a milestone in our 15 year-long history,” said Sundberg. “We started from nothing and have built this incredible company thanks to a team of exceptionally talented people. With Nordisk Film as the owner of the studio, we will expand our creative horizons. I look forward to continuing our long and successful relationships with the best publishers in our industry, as well as creating new games under our own Avalanche Studios publishing label.”
The Nordisk acquisition of Avalanche will finalize in June.
