In an interesting snippet of news, it was recently revealed that Embracer Group (formerly THQ Nordic AB) has acquired Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios. This acquisition was far from a small one, with THQ reportedly paying $10.5 million to add Tarsier to their growing collection of indie companies which includes Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come: Deliverance) and Piranha Bytes (Gothic).
THQ Nordic acquires Tarsier Studios
© Tarsier Studios
THQ Nordic acquired several indie studios throughout 2019, ending the year by announcing they’ve officially acquired Tarsier Studios (Little Nightmares). The terms of the acquisition include retaining all 65 Tarsier employees, while providing Embracer Group (THQ) with ownership of Tarsier’s intellectual property rights.
What’s interesting when it comes to property rights is that Little Nightmares and its upcoming sequel are currently owned by Bandai Namco, while other IPs like Stretchers are owned by Nintendo. It’s possible Tarsier has another title in the works that Embracer wants early dibs on. A “grab it while it’s available” situation. If this is the case, we’re curious to find out what Tarsier’s next game will be.
What’s nice about the acquisition is that in addition to retaining all current employees, Tarsier will “remain autonomous” while developing new IPs for THQ. That means Tarsier will have decision rights and can shape their future games however they see fit. As of right now, Tarsier is actively working on a sequel to Little Nightmares for Bandai set to release in 2020 on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
After that, Tarsier is free to go wherever they like, though future IPs will again be owned (as far as intellectual property rights go) by Embracer Group (THQ).
After hearing that Embracer has acquired Tarsier Studios, what are your thoughts? Are you eager to see what other IPs Tarsier has planned after releasing Little Nightmares 2? Comment below!
