Nacon has acquired Ishtar Games, the developer behind both the Dead in series and The Last Spell, news confirmed by both companies this week.
While Nacon has acquired Ishtar Games, the new acquisition comes alongside the launch of the Ishtar label within the company, which they’re aiming to help produce and market high-profile indie games.
The new label will be managed by the Ishtar Games team. Ishtar Games will produce their own new content like the recently announced Lakeburg Legacies, as well as sign partnerships with various independent studios in order to develop and promote a large catalogue of indie games.
Nacon has noted that Ishtar Games will retain their editorial independence when it comes to new projects and overall design, but will also benefit from Nacon as their new parent company. Matthieu Richez, senior executive, co-founder of the studio and Creative Director, will continue to lead the team.
“This acquisition and the creation of the label demonstrate NACON’s ambition and desire to offer high quality games developed by and for gamers,” Mr. Alain Falc, Chairman and CEO of NACON said. “The Ishtar Games team will allow us to progress in the independent games segment.”
President and co-founder of Ishtar Games Matthieu Richez added, “This new adventure gives a boost to the strategy we put in place five years ago. We are all the more enthusiastic as it is a logical evolution, in the continuity of our know-how. The confidence that NACON places in us to carry out this both ambitious and disruptive approach of creating a label of independent games supporting our values is the guarantee of an intelligent and motivating collaboration for our teams. We will finally have the means to fully express our creativity and aim for excellence, to the delight of our players. “
With this new acquisition, Nacon now wholly owns 14 different game development studios, including: 9 in France, 1 in Belgium, 1 in Italy, 2 in Canada and 1 in Australia. In total, they now employ over 600 developers, supported by a 70-person publishing team.
