For People Can Fly, 2021 has been a year of great growth and visibility. The company had acquired Game On and converted Phosphor Games into People Can Fly Chicago, and its first game since its break with Epic Games, Outriders, came out early this year. People Can Fly isn’t done, though. Outriders is getting its Worldslayer expansion next year, and it has announced its third acquisition of the year.
People Can Fly has entered into a development and publishing agreement with Incuvo S.A. and purchased a controlling stake in the Katowice, Poland-based company. Incuvo is a studio specializing in VR production, having worked on the VR Edition of Bloober Team’s Layers of Fear and Blair Witch. Incuvo is currently working on a VR version of Green Hell from developer Creepy Jar.
Incuvo will also be developing a VR version for one of People Can Fly's IPs, fully funded by the PCF Group, and is intended to release before the end of 2023. People Can Fly Chicago, which itself has plenty of VR experience having released The Brookhaven Experiment as a VR game prior to joining the PCF family, will be cooperating with Incuvo. Per PCF CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski, “we will be building synergy between Incuvo and our Chicago studio, which also has a wealth of experience in virtual reality gaming.”
On that matter, PCF Chicago’s Justin Corcoran also added that his team is “very eager to cooperate with Incuvo’s team and move forward with this new project.” However, it’s also worth noting that—as Incuvo has worked with other developers outside PCF such as Bloober Team and Creepy Jar—the company will remain an independent entity within the group.
What this essentially means is that Incuvo will receive new support and the like from People Can Fly, but the company will continue working with other clients—similar to PCF’s acquisition of Game On. In essence, People Can Fly owns both companies, but each company has the independence necessary to take on work with other clients.
Many may know People Can Fly as a shooter company, and that will always be an important part of PCF’s DNA. However, the company has been growing and diversifying its portfolio over the past few years: People Can Fly New York is working on an action-adventure game, PCF as a whole has expanded its goals with “compact AAA” development with lower production times for new and upcoming projects, and more. To sum up Incuvo’s addition to PCF, Wojciechowski said:
“We welcome Incuvo into the PCF family. We are closing our first year as a public company on a high note and are expanding the Group’s competencies in a new, prospective field. While cooperating with Incuvo, we became convinced that they’re a partner worth investing in, also in the context of growing variety in PCF’s portfolio.”