French publisher and game developerDotemuhas had a strong several years, working with major publishers to port its games to PC while working on its own line of exciting indie titles. The most recent example beingStreets of Rage 4, an over-performing retro brawler.Dotemu’s also got a line-up of solid upcoming releases for 2021, includingWindjammers 2,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, andMetal Slug Tactics. Despite that, Dotemu has decided to sell the company.
Focus Home Interactive has officially acquired Dotemu for a reported €38.5 million ($45.3 million), with an additional €15 million ($17.6 million) in conditionals.Focus Home Interactiveis also based in Paris, France, making the pairing quite fitting. In a statement issued by Focus, it described Dotemu as “fast-growing” with a “very ambitious growth plan” moving forward. Suffice to say, Focus Home Interactive believes in Dotemu’s future and is investing in the company early.
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Focus Home Interactive is known for its very diverse range of games made by European development teams. Just for example, popular titles published by Focus Home Interactive in recent memory includeA Plague Tale: Innocence,SnowRunner,Hood: Outlaws & Legends, andGreedfall. Focus Home Interactive is also known for itsFarming Simulatorseries, which is developed by Giants Software. Dotemu’s line-up of retro titles will fit perfectly into Focus Home Interactive’s already diverse catalog.
As for why Dotemu followed through on its sale, there’s no reasoning provided. It’s possible that, as Focus Home Interactive says, Dotemu simply has an aggressive growth strategy laid out and the acquisition is necessary to support that path. It’s also possible that Dotemu’s faced challenges in the recent past and had no other option. For example, it released just two games, aremasteredFinal Fantasy 8andStreets of Rage 4, between 2018 and 2020 despite releasing between four and 19 every year since 2009.
But the most likely possibility is that Focus Home Interactive simply offered a too good of a deal. Focus Home Interactive has spent the past year aggressively expanding. It acquiredGerman developer and publisher Deck13, and then acquired the Fench developer ofNecromunda: Hired GunStreum On Studio just months ago. Dotemu is by far the largest acquisition by Focus Home Interactive yet, however.
As for what this might mean for Dotemu and its games going forward, there’s no immediate reason to believe any announced plans have been altered.Windjammers 2,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, andMetal Slug Tacticsremain in development. With luck, these development teams will be better supported than before, allowingDotemuto more aggressively market them or pursue further exciting projects likeStreets of Rage 4.
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