VR developer Coatsink is the latest studio to be acquired, this time by Thunderful Group.
The UK-based team, which has worked on VR since its infancy, was been fully acquired by the group for £23 million (around $30 million). A press release states that an earn-out component could take that up to £65.5 million. Thunderful also owns other studios like Ghost Giant creator, Zoink, as well as Guru Games and Image & Form Games. It also works with Nintendo and other partners on toys and other products.
Originally established in 2009, Coatsink broke into VR development with Esper, a Gear VR puzzle game that saw players move objects with their mind. The studio since established a close relationship with Facebook’s Oculus, releasing several exclusive titles for its headsets, mainly for mobile devices. That includes its most recent in-house VR release, Shadow Point, which launched on Oculus Quest.
Coatsink also publishes titles, including the recent launch of military simulation shooter Onward on Oculus Quest. We’ve reached out to the studio to ask if and how that relationship will continue under this news. Currently, the team is working on another title for the headset, Jurassic World Aftermath.
The studio has five titles in development right now, Aftermath included. The team makes non-VR games too, so it’s not clear how many more of these are for headsets.
This is the second major acquisition of a VR studio we’ve seen in recent weeks. Back in September, Koch Media acquired Arizona Sunshine developer, Vertigo Games, which focuses exclusively on headsets.
