German game publisher and developer Headup joins Thunderful group, the Swedish video game company based in Gothenburg. Headup published a lot of games for more than ten years and with this agreement, the company wishes to grow its game segment and itself.
Headup’s press release:
As of today, German game publisher and developer Headup is proudly becoming part of the Thunderful Group Ab family. In connection with the acquisition, Headup’s CEO Dieter Schoeller takes on the role as Head of Publishing in the Thunderful Games segment.
Over the past decade, Headup has time and again (2012, 2013, 2017, 2019) won the category “Best Game Publisher” at the German Developers Awards. Among the successes are the game series Bridge Constructor, Trüberbrook which won the title Best German Game 2019, and the Mega Grant winner Pumpkin Jack. Over the years, Headup has published an extensive catalogue of games and also collaborated with well-known game developers on unique special editions of titles such as LIMBO, The Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy, QUBE and Terraria.
Headup is currently developing an unannounced game based on a world-renowned IP. They are also involved in several production and publishing projects. All in all, the Headup projects will strengthen Thunderful’s existing pipeline in 2021 and beyond.
“After more than a decade on our own, it’s time for the next big adventure – and I’m really happy to become a part of Thunderful Group! I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Brjann for many years now, and he’s always been an inspiration for business practices and partnerships. Becoming an important part of the family will give our experienced team new opportunities and unleash our full potential,” says Headup’s CEO and founder Dieter Schoeller.
Thunderful will pay EUR 5 million in cash upfront. In addition, Thunderful will pay an earn-out component subject to Headup’s performance in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The earn-out consideration is capped at EUR 6m and consists of EUR 2.5 million in newly issued Thunderful shares with a clawback mechanism as well as future payments of EUR 3.5 million in a mix of cash and shares. The total maximum consideration of the acquisition is thus EUR 11 million.
“The acquisition of Headup is fully in line with our strategy to grow our Games segment and the Group as a whole. I’ve known Dieter Schoeller ever since we started publishing games ourselves more than ten years ago. The fine folks at Headup are very good at merging game development and publishing, and they’re doing better and better business. The acquisition strengthens our international position, broadens our network towards more development studios and creates synergies within the Group’s publishing operations. We welcome our new co-workers in Düren who will work closely with their colleagues at Thunderful Publishing”, says Thunderful Group’s CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson.
Headup remains an independent game publishing and development company and will be reported as part of the Thunderful Games segment. In connection with the acquisition, Headup’s CEO Dieter Schoeller will take on the role of Head of Publishing within Thunderful Group, and will thus be responsible for Thunderful’s publishing operations in Sweden and Germany.
We heard great news in the game industry in 2021 and that was also one of the great news. gaming companies continue to grow and achieve good results.
Headup had great successes alone. As of now, they have a new seatmate and new strategies. We will see how they will improve their game segments soon. As Mobidictum, we congratulate both companies and wish them good luck.