Ukrainian company 4A Games, which has developed popular video game “Metro,” has merged with Swedish video game holding Embracer Group, the companies announced on Aug. 13.
Embracer Group acquired the Ukrainian game developer for $36 million, and 4A Games can get $35 million more if it fulfills the “agreed targets” within five years. Embracer Group now owns 100% of the shares in 4A Games.
The Ukrainian company, however, wouldn’t comment on the details of the deal because it signed a non-disclosure agreement and can’t share confidential information, the press service of 4A Games told the Kyiv Post.
Founded in 2006 in Ukraine, 4A Games now has two offices — in Malta and Kyiv — and employs 150 developers.
In the Aug. 13 statement, 4A Games calls Embracer Group “a perfect partner” and says it expects to earn $23 million from sales of its video games in 2020.
It’s the eights merger and acquisition deal for Embracer Group in 2020, which has bought seven other game studios in Germany, Spain, Austria, and the U.S. through its subsidiary Saber Interactive since the beginning of the year. In all, the company owns over 170 video game franchises and employs 4,000 employees in more than 40 countries.
A screenshot from “Metro Exodus,” a popular video game developed by Ukrainian developer 4A Games.
4A Games will work as an independent studio under Saber Interactive, a subsidiary of Embracer Group. According to 4A Games CEO Dean Sharpe, his studio will continue to work with the Swedish partners on the “Metro” video games, which are based on science fiction novel “Metro 2033” and its sequels written by Dmitry Glukhovsky.
So far, the Ukrainian company has developed three games for the franchise: “Metro 2033” (2010), “Metro: Last Light” (2013) and “Metro Exodus” (2019).
All the stories take place in post-apocalyptic Russia devastated by a nuclear war. In “Metro Exodus,” the main character, Artyom, escapes from the Moscow metro where all the survivors live after the war. Outside the subway, Artyom has to fight villains and mutants, while exploring the ruins of Moscow and avoiding deadly radiation.
Apart from “Metro,” 4A Games have also released shooter game “Arktika.1” designed to be played in a virtual reality headset. However, this game hasn’t become as popular as the “Metro” games.
