Koch Media acquires Flying Wild Hog
Sydney, Australia, November 18 2020 – Koch Media GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of the Embracer Group AB has today entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Poland based Flying Wild Hog the renowned and growing independent Polish developer of PC and console games such as the critically acclaimed Shadow Warrior franchise. This acquisition underlines Koch Media’s growth ambitions as a leading, global gaming group.
The acquisition includes the three studios based in Warsaw, Rzeszów and Cracow.that consists of 260+ people, adding a solid platform in an important and growing hub for game development.
Adding more than eleven years of experience and knowledge, Flying Wild Hog will act as an independent studio within the Koch Media family and studio network. Both companies are looking forward to leveraging synergies and exploiting future opportunities as part of Koch Media’s multi label strategy as well as within the Embracer group and its wide range of owned IPs. Flying Wild Hog is currently working on four game projects together with other global publishers.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Flying Wild Hog will be joining Koch Media and the Embracer family. Koch Media is a renowned publisher who has embraced our vision to create the most exciting, fast-paced, over the top action games for players worldwide. What drives Flying Wild Hog is the ambition to surprise fans with unique gaming experiences delivered to the highest quality. By joining forces with the notoriously energetic Embracer Group and Koch Media, we will be able to continue to grow and focus on delivering even more ambitious games. We fell in love with Embracer’s vision to build an alliance of diverse and talented studios who keep their independence and creative freedom. It’s an incredibly compelling opportunity which is why we’re delighted by this partnership and what it holds for our future.” says Michal Szustak, CEO Flying Wild Hog Studios.
Klemens Kundratitz, CEO at Koch Media adds: „The Hogs being member of our global studio network enables us to further secure our positioning in one of Europe’s most vibrant and growing gaming territories and roots us deeply into the great development scene in Poland. After expanding the Koch Media publishing activities earlier this year by entering the Asian market and re-positioning our American publishing company, further establishing our studio network by adding this true powerhouse will allow us to grow our own games portfolio, grow development capacity and utilize synergies within the group even better in the future.”
“We’re so excited to see Flying Wild Hog join Embracer Group’s portfolio of globally-renowned game developers. We always knew there was enormous potential in Flying Wild Hog and we couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of their growth and success. This new partnership with Embracer will see them reach even greater heights.” says Supernova Capital founder and Managing Partner Paul Wedgwood.
Flying Wild Hog was founded by Michal Szustak together with other developers of CD Projekt Red and People Can Fly in Warsaw, Poland in 2009. In 2016, FWH expanded by opening a new studio in Cracow, followed up by an additional studio in Rzeszów in 2018. The team today consists of more than 260 employees with a unique and diverse set of skills, originated from developing global hits for other leading developers as well as from FWH’s own projects. FWH’s released games have together sold more than 9.5 million units[1] since release.
The team at FWH in Krakow is the only established Game-as-a-Service developer on console/PC platforms in Poland and brings new capabilities to the Embracer group that can be further scaled and leveraged in other projects going forward. FWH are currently working on an exciting project pipeline, including developing four titles for publishers such as Jagex, Devolver Digital and Focus Home Interactive, which are planned to be released during 2021/22.
About Flying Wild Hog
Founded in 2009 in Warsaw, Poland, independent game studio Flying Wild Hog’s name evokes the same core feeling as its acclaimed catalogue of titles — action-packed, fast-paced, and wholeheartedly unique. From Hard Reset to the Shadow Warrior series, Flying Wild Hog’s titles have established a reputation for quality and care, spurring rapid and continued growth across its three Polish studios and nearly 270 employees. Following its recent acquisition by Koch Media and Embracer Group, Flying Wild Hog seeks to continue delivering original, high-quality game experiences that transport players to exciting new worlds and push creative boundaries. Flying Wild Hog is currently working on Shadow Warrior 3 – the offbeat first-person shooter, a new multi-player action-RPG IP which will be published by Jagex, and a brand new unannounced title which is being brought to life together with Focus Home Interactive. With an ever-expanding game portfolio that leverages a proven production pipeline, Flying Wild Hog delights in delivering the unexpected!
More information on the website: www.flyingwildhog.com
About Koch Media
The Koch Media Group is a global developer, publisher and distributor of video games, VR games, gaming
The group’s publishing activities, marketing and distribution extend throughout Europe, America, Australia and Asia. Koch Media has more than 25 years of experience in the digital media business and has risen to become a leading global publishing partner. The Koch Media Group runs a multi-label strategy with fully owned publishing units such as Deep Silver, Milestone, Vertigo Games and Ravenscourt which publish games for consoles, PC and VR platforms across all physical and digital channels.
Additionally, as global publishing partner Koch Media has formed long-term multi-national publishing collaborations with numerous game publishers including Bethesda, Capcom, Codemasters, Konami, Koei Tecmo, Sega, Square Enix, Warner Bros and many others. With its parent company in Höfen, Austria, and the Publishing HQ in Munich, Germany, Koch Media owns local publishing companies in Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, the United States as well as Japan and Hong Kong.
The Koch Media Group owns eight game development studios: Deep Silver Volition (Champaign, IL / USA), Deep Silver Dambuster Studios (Nottingham / UK), Deep Silver Fishlabs (Hamburg / Germany), Warhorse Studios (Prague / Czech Republic), Milestone (Milan / Italy), Voxler (Paris / France), Vertigo Games (Rotterdam /The Netherlands) and Flying Wild Hog Studios (Warsaw /Poland). Additionally, the Koch Media Group collaborates with numerous independent development studios around the world.
Part of the Koch Media Group is also Koch Films, a European independent film distributor with business primarily in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy as a cinema, TV, online and Home Entertainment distributor. The Koch Media Group also owns Gaya Entertainment, a leading video game merchandise company in Munich, Germany, and the Quality Assurance Facility in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
For more information please visit www.kochmedia.com
Koch Media is an Embracer Group company.
About Embracer Group
Embracer Group is the parent company of businesses developing and publishing PC, console and mobile games for the global games market. Embracer Group has an extensive catalogue of over 190 owned franchises, such as Saints Row, Goat Simulator, Dead Island, Darksiders, Metro, MX vs ATV, Kingdoms of Amalur, TimeSplitters, Satisfactory, Wreckfest, Insurgency and World War Z, amongst many others.
With its head office based in Karlstad, Sweden, Embracer Group has a global presence through its six operative groups: THQ Nordic GmbH, Koch Media GmbH/Deep Silver, Coffee Stain AB, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive and DECA Games. Embracer Group has 46 internal game development studios and is engaging more than 4,000 employees and contracted employees in more than 40 countries.
