Deck13 is a German game developer best known for its Ankh series of adventure games in 2000s and its more recent work on the Souls-like Lords of the Fallen. But it's found a renewed vigor working on The Surge franchise with Focus Home Interactive. Apparently the partnership has been working so well that Focus Home Interactive decided to make the partnership much more official. Deck13 announced this past week that it has been acquired by Focus Home Interactive.
In a press release put out by Focus Home Interactive, the publisher confirmed that it had acquired 100% of Deck13 Interactive's shares, making it the sole owner of the studio. In total, the shares are said to have cost Focus Home Interactive a total price of approximately $8 million. Deck13 currently employs 60 workers out of its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Based on statements from both Focus Home Interactive and Deck13, the studio will seemingly continue to work on game development projects much as it has for Focus Home Interactive for the past 5 years. Deck13 does not have a new game announced yet, but did launch its most recent expansion for The Surge 2, The Kraken, in January early this year. It's likely working on a new project, the financials of which perhaps led to its acquisition.
What isn't clear is what will come of Deck13's publishing efforts. In addition to its own development efforts, Deck13 has supported the development of 15 different games over the past 5 years. Titles published included The Adventures of Bertram Fiddle and CrossCode. Technically, its last announced publishing partnership launched in May with Resolutiion. That could mean that Deck13 will no longer pursue further publishing partnerships.
Focus Home Interactive has publishing partnerships with many studios, but Deck13 will be its first studio acquisition. The company has previously developed its own games, having acquired Cities XL in 2010, but has only focused on publishing otherwise.
Suffice to say, Focus Home Interactive acquiring Deck13 is a surprise on many different levels. For the past 5 years, Deck13 seemed content working as a 3rd party studio and doing publishing for indie games, as well. And Focus Home Interactive has largely been content to simply publish games. The circumstances that led both parties to move in a different direction may not be clear, but it's hopefully the best choice for both.