Archive notice: This article was originally published on June 4, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to its own information, online-games developer and publisher Bigpoint is acquiring the renowned and multiple-award-winning development studio Radon Labs. Radon Labs had been forced to file for insolvency in mid-May due to payment difficulties. Bigpoint will take on more than 35 employees through this acquisition. Radon Labs’ two managing directors, Bernd Beyreuther and André Blechschmidt, will remain on board and will lead the Berlin location in future. This will take Bigpoint past the threshold of 500 employees in 2010. The company has locations in Hamburg (headquarters), Malta, San Francisco and Berlin.
Last year, Bigpoint had already acquired Berlin development studio eLOFD GmbH. At the end of May 2010, eLOFD GmbH officially became Bigpoint Berlin GmbH. The former eLOFD employees will develop online games at the Berlin location together with the Radon Labs employees taken on today. This includes the continuation of the highly successful Drakensang series. Drakensang 3 will therefore continue to be developed. The expected release date is 2011.
Heiko Hubertz, CEO and founder of Bigpoint: “For us, the acquisition of Radon Labs is a significant strategic step. Under the leadership of Bernd Beyreuther and André Blechschmidt, Radon Labs is one of Germany’s top three development studios,” Hubertz says. “We are delighted to be able to save this studio from insolvency and win over a large proportion of its highly qualified employees. This acquisition shows that the market is continuing to consolidate. We plan to purchase further studios, including internationally.”
Radon Labs is one of Germany’s most renowned development studios. Since its foundation in 1995, the team led by the two managing directors Bernd Beyreuther and André Blechschmidt has developed more than 20 titles for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and NDS and has received more than a dozen awards. The best-known titles from the Berlin studio are Drakensang 1 and 2. In mid-May, Radon Labs had to initiate insolvency proceedings due to payment difficulties and had since been searching for a new investor.
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