If you were a bit surprised to see MechWarrior Online perk back up this fall after a long period of neglect in the wake of MechWarrior 5’s development, then it’s all going to make sense shortly, as apparently the studio behind both titles, Piranha Games, is being bought out.
“Enad Global 7 AB (publ) (“EG7” or the “Company”) has today entered into an agreement with the shareholders of Canadian game developer Piranha Games Inc. (“Piranha Games”) to acquire 100 percent of Piranha Games (the “Transaction”) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately CAD 31.4 million, equivalent of SEK 207 million, on a cash- and debt- free basis (the “Purchase Price”). The Purchase Price paid in cash and in newly issued EG7 shares. Piranha Games is one of Canada’s oldest independent game developers and is most famous for the latest entries into the MechWarrior franchise. Through the acquisition, EG7 gains a reputable team of 65 people in the studio in Vancouver, Canada. For the 12-month period ending on 30 September 2020, Piranha Games generated net sales of approximately CAD 22.7 million, equivalent of SEK 150 million, and EBITDA of approximately CAD 8.6 million, equivalent of SEK 56 million. The EBITDA-multiple on the Purchase Price therefore amounts to 3.7x EBITDA.”
That’s about $24M US, if you’re wondering, and Enad Global 7 is a Swedish publisher. According to Enad’s press release, Piranha will continue operating and reporting independently; its owners stand to earn an additional $48M in cash and shares over the next five years if the company performs to expectations. Piranha hasn’t issued a statement of its own yet as I type this, prompting speculation and freakouts from players.
“December is going to be an exciting month for MWO, with holiday events and sales, and the final preparation for launching the MWO initiative in January 2021,” the devs promised in Monday’s update. “This will include a townhall-style broadcast in early December, where Russ will discuss the plans for MWO going into the new year in greater detail, and answer questions from the community.”
“With the recent acquisition of Piranha Games by EG7, we have even more resources available to support these efforts. We will leverage this new relationship to take our MechWarrior titles to the next level, and increase our growth and presence globally. We understand that this news is not ideal for those that have been waiting to purchase the game on Steam or another platform, or for those that have been ready to dive into Heroes of the Inner Sphere, but we promise that the wait will be worth it. […] [H]ow will this decision affect MechWarrior Online? It won’t! There will be no impact on our MechWarrior Online initiatives, and in fact this will likely benefit MWO in the long run by bringing more eyes to our multiplayer PvP MechWarrior experience. By the release of MW5 in Spring 2021, we should be well on our way towards implementing significant updates to MWO, including exciting improvements to the new player experience, making sure we’re ready for new players.”
