Supermassive Games, the developer of horror titles like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures Anthology, has been acquired by Nordisk Games. The publisher took out a 30.7 per cent stake in the company last year, but has upped it now to a full 100 per cent. This is all being done "to increase our support to the team, and most importantly, continue the great working relationship we have with them," says Nordisk Games.
The UK-based team joins the likes of Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow studio MercurySteam within the Nordisk Games umbrella. An official price for the buyout hasn't been shared. Pete Samuels of Supermassive Games said in a statement that the deal offers the team job security and the opportunity to grow.
"Having had such a positive experience over the past year it wasn’t a difficult decision when Nordisk Games wanted to explore increasing their investment. We have an exciting and ambitious growth strategy for Supermassive Games and Nordisk Games ownership only enhances that." Nordisk Games CEO Mikkel Weider then adds: "In acquiring 100% of the studio we’ll be able to increase our support to the team, and most importantly, continue the great working relationship we have with them."
While many still feel Supermassive Games has never managed to hit the heights of Until Dawn on PS4 in the time since 2015, The Dark Pictures Anthology has gradually gotten better with each entry, and this year's The Devil in Me looks like the series' most interesting setting yet. With further backing from Nordisk Games, the quality of these titles could well improve even more in the years to come. Unless Bandai Namco has a deal in place, it's presumed the publishing of the franchise will now switch to Nordisk Games.
[source supermassivegames.com]
Comments 48
I hope this leads to more stable quality now across their games.
I thought they were owned by bandai namco 🤷♂️
I don't really care for this studio's games so I'm not really bothered who owns them
"While many still feel Supermassive Games has never managed to hit the heights of Until Dawn on PS4 in the time since 2015..."
Many, a.k.a Push Square
@Would_you_kindly No, they were just the publisher for The Dark Pictures games, they've been almost independent until now, The Quarry was published by 2K.
@jFug Lol! To be fair, Man of Medan was terrible, Little Hope was really decent (sans ending) and House of Ashes was pretty excellent. The Quarry was definitely on par with Until Dawn.
But I get it, the PS team isn't a big fan for some reason.
@SolaceCreed AHH okay I saw something about them working on little nightmares aswell so I thought they owned them
Same people that own Avalanche studios, At least its not Tencent
@jFug to be fair that seems to be quite a commonly held view on the interwebs and across gaming sites, youtubers etc. (or at least the ones I watch) Though i'd caveat that by saying a lot of people didn't like Man of Medan and I don't think they've given the other Dark Pictures games much of a chance since.
I always thought they were a good fit for Sony. They have VR experience & Until Dawn is arguably the best horror game on PS4.
I imagine they wouldn’t have been so expensive to acquire following the games they released since.
@themightyant As much as I loved Until Dawn, I can't help but feel that because it was their first release in the interactive drama genre, people view it with rose-colored glasses.
I'll agree Man of Medan and Little Hope we're average at best, but House of Ashes and The Quarry were on par with UD. Maybe it's the genre people are growing tired of, and not the games themselves.
@Divergent95 I mean its probably because Supermassiv has basically made Until Dawn...5-6 times again since then lol. After a while theres some fatique setting in, probably was also reflected in Games sales and thats why they were bought.
@jFug I disagree. The Quarry was weak, imo. We were able to overlook flaws and shortcuts back when they started making these games, but they haven't improved at all since 2015. Enough is Enough.
@jFug I love how the response to you says they disagree, but then proceeds to confirm everything you said.
@Fight_Teza_Fight Quantic Dream was another one i think the reason sony didn't buy them is because of their Bad work environment.
@Richnj Learn to read. The Quarry was weak AF. The dark picture games barely count as games. I can't even remember anything about them.
I've liked their games so far, they offer something else thats not on the market which are big budget interactive games, simliat to telltale but they haven't put anything out in years. And also quantic dreams who have also gone quiet since detroit. So it's nice to see supermassive be consistent and hopefully this purchase makes them better and not deviate away from what they are known for, which is my main concern
Sony should have taken over
Genuinely surprised it wasn't Embracer Group that purchased them
@Areus
I think it’s more likely because these games aren’t suited to a live service model. Sony view the opportunity cost of buying them, compared to a company with such experience, to be too high.
@Bismarck "I can't help but feel that because it was their first release in the interactive drama genre, people view it with rose-colored glasses."
"We were able to overlook flaws and shortcuts back when they started making these games"
"The Quarry were on par with UD"
"they haven't improved at all since 2015"
It's not my ability to read. Why you so angry?
I hope they can continue making great games! Not played The Quarry yet but haven't been a massive fan of their output since Until Dawn, but I'm confident they can still hit those heights again!
@Bismarck ever thought that it’s not all about you?
@Richnj What part of 'The Quarry was weak' you failed to understand? Are you trying to piss me off? Are you trying to start an argument that will end up getting deleted?
Learn to read and google words you don't understand.
@Artois2 People with higher standards are doing everyone a favor by complaining about bad or mediocre studios. Just because you don't care about what you consume doesn't mean that you won't enjoy actually good games more.
I've just finished playing Man of Medan through Plus Extra, inspired to do so after watching a playthrough of The Quarry and overall I thought it was alright. A tad short but it is part of an Anthology series. I understand the reasons why they didn't, but it would've been much better if they'd released them all at the same time.
These types of games aren't for everyone but I do enjoy them, from time to time. Will likely give Little Hope a try within the next few weeks. From what I have seen, The Quarry looks pretty good and worth playing at some point.
@Bismarck someone has a high opinion of themselves
Time for a direct sequel to Until Dawn. Only this time you play as Hannah and its set between the cliff drop and the end of game events.
@Artois2 Do you blame me? Most people are still excited for Until Dawn and Assassin's Creed clones. That doesn't make them bad or stupid, but it simply means that they have low standards. They will consume everything and pay for whatever microtransaction is offered to them.
@Bismarck each to their own, why get argumentative over someone else’s tastes?
@Artois2 Because most people are content with the bare minimum. Just like you are free to be excited for Assassins Creed Ghost of Forbidden Mordor 15 I am free to say they are all lazy.
Can’t wait forAC ghost of forbidden mordor 15
Sounds like this is a good outcome for Supermassive. I highly enjoy what they do and looking forward to The Devil in Me.
I hought they had an 8 game deal with Bamco, the 2 seasons of Dark Pictures Anthology games, but I could be mistaken.
Nordisk Games are part of Nordisk Film, who does movies. So this honestly seem like a really damn good fit considering the sort of games Supermassive Games have been making for years.
@jFug You make a fair point on it being the first, at least for that studio (FMV games have been around since the Laserdisc), there's always rose tinted glasses for the first, and higher expectations thereafter.
@Keyblade-Dan So why bother commenting? What exactly is your point? It's as intelligent as taking the time out of ones day to go to a Justin Beiber video and post "I don't like the guys music at all, but figured I'd make a post to tell everyone."
Nice bit of security for the team; Nordisk seem to be a relatively okay corporate overlord
@thefourfoldroot1 They Could Have Bought Both Supermassive and Quantic Dreams Back When Shawn Layden Was Still in Charge But Didn't.
I like their games but they never surpassed Until Dawn imho.
I like their games
I also liked hidden agenda
Little Hope was worse than Man of Medan and I have no desire to ever play it twice.
@D34DL1N3R I'm allowed to have an opinion if you don't like it and disagree that's fair but it's a public forum dude I can give my opinion if I want
Xbox exclusive?
Lets be honest here.... most of their games have been average at best. No bad, not outstanding, just average.
Their games are fun every now and then, only if the story of the game is at least decent. If not, then the games become a chore to "play" and finished.
@Areus Quantic Dreams with all their massive issues i can understand they dont want to have them that guy has been in the news in so many terrible ways.
@Keyblade-Dan Now you're creating a strawman argument. I never said you aren't allowed to have opinons or make comments.
I thought they would be acquired by Sony after how strong until dawn was. Wasn't meant to be, I'm glad they have joined a third party publisher who feels they can tap into their skillset better.
Fingers crossed the quality of their games will improve alot now!
I still need to finish Until Dawn but did enjoy what little I played.
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