Danish entertainment firm Nordisk Film has taken full ownership of Avalanche Studios.
Nordisk took a minority ownership in Avalanche in April 2017, and is now spending $104.16 million to acquire the remaining shares. The company’s ongoing strategy is to invest heavily successful nordic games studios, and this deal marks the largest single purchase in Nordisk’s 111-year history
“We have been minority owners of Avalanche Studios for a year, and are already impressed by their results,” said Mikkel Weider, managing director at Nordisk Film Games. “During its 15 years in business, Avalanche Studios has built a world-class team and created a unique company culture that perfectly matches our own values. It also has a unique foundational technology, exciting new titles in development and strong IP.”
Avalanche’s day-to-day should remain unaltered as a result of the purchase, however. The studio will continue to be creatively independent, free to work with third-party publishers and license-holders. Co-founders Christofer Sundberg and Linus Blomberg will remain at Avalanche, focusing on the creative and technical aspects of its games. The management team will also stay as-is with CEO Pim Holfve at the helm.
“We have had a fantastic year with Nordisk Film as part of Avalanche Studios,” Holfve commented. “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.”
Avalanche is best known for its vast open-world titles, from the Just Cause franchise to 2015’s Mad Max. The studio is currently working alongside Bethesda to build Rage 2 on its proprietary engine.