This article is part of the weekly “This Week in Games” article-series on Nordic Game Bits. The purpose of the series is to collect and wrap-up all the news that we did not cover with a full article on NordicGameBits form the past weeks.
Swedish Paradox Acquires White Wolf from Icelandic CCP
Swedish developer and publisher Paradox Interactive acquired games studio White Wolf including all of its IPs from Icelandic EVE Online developer CCP.
The acquisition is Paradox’s biggest investment till date, and White Wolf will “operate as an independent entity with a dedicated team.”, despite being acquired by Paradox. So what will Paradox do with the White Wolf studio? Well, apparently they’ll start building the company from scratch again, starting with completing the World of Darkness IP.
Housemarque Announces Matterfall
Apart from working on their Alienation game, Finnish Housemarque has apparently been working hard on other title that they announced this week during Sony’s Paris Games Week.
Watch the trailer below, or read the synopsis of the new game here:
“MatterFall follows an unexpected hero fighting for survival on a ravished sci-fi world infected by a mysterious and deadly alien material known only as “Smart Matter”.
“Using agility and powerful weaponry you must explore this new world and utilise your own control over the Smart Matter to uncover the mystery of this new threat and save the day before it threatens the very existence of the human race.”
8 Games Receive Funding from the Norwegian Film Institute
The Norwegian Film Institute supports the Norwegian games industry by distributing a set amount of Norwegian Kroner to games projects each year. This week, the next 8 games to receive the funding were announced, receiving a total of 6 700 000 Norwegian Kroner.
The list of games include: Draugen Fase 3 by Red Thread Games, Fugl by Gjestland Film, Gråtass ordner opp by Ravn Studio, Mitt Barn: Lebensborn by Teknopilot, DragonBox Treasure by WeWantToKnow, Piramida by The Arctic, Agents vs Villain by Process, and Egggg by Hyper Games.
Chinese Technology Firm NetEase Invests in Reforged Studios
NetEase is probably best known as the Blizzard publisher in China, but the company has just invested $2.5 million in Finnish Reforged Studios.
The money, Reforged explains, will be used to boost the development of their upcoming titles, which have not yet been revealed.
Colossal Order named Finnish Game Developer of the Year
At the DigiExpo this week, the “Finnish Game Developer of the Year” award was given for the sixth year, and in 2015, Colossal Order – the makers of Cities: Skylines – won the award. The following is what the jury had to say about Colossal Order:
““Colossal Order is a game studio that has, from the very beginning, focused on both the game development and the business development. Some of their choices might look unconventional: the focus on PC platform, collaboration with a publisher, locating the studio outside the capital area etc. However, for them those have been justified and viable choices. Their example shows that a studio seeking success in the game industry must have abilities to independently plan its business and to recognize its strengths and possibilities.”
RedLynx co-founder Leaves to Found MotionVolt
Via a recent press release, RedLynx co-founder Atte Ilvessuo announces that he has left RedLynx to found a new self-financed studio called MotionVolt. Very little is known about the new studio yet, but they’ll apparently develop physics-based games for mobile devices.
Good Night Brave Warrior’s First Tittle Hits Greenlight
Swedish indie studio Good Night Brave Warrior’s first title, Sling Ming, has finally hit Steam Greenlight. The Good Night Brave Warriors team currently consists of the two co-founders who are also brothers, and Sling Ming will be released in Spring 2016, if everything goes according to the plan.