Advised Gamepires on sale to Jagex Ltd.

Overview

Jagex Ltd., UK-based developer and publisher of video games has acquired Gamepires, a leading Croatian video game development studio.

Gamepires is a certified developer for PC, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft XBOX platforms, currently developing SCUM – a next-generation survival game released in 2018 on Steam (PC) as an Early Access game. SCUM has sold over 3 million copies and is consistently placed in Steam’s Top 100 most played games. Gamepires’ and Jagex’s community-driven approach will enable SCUM to realise its full potential with a multi-platform 1.0 release in the future. Gamepires are also creators and owners of the Gas Guzzlers franchise. The Company employs 50+ world-class developers continuously oriented towards innovation and perfection in game production.

Unique Selling Points

- Development team led by Croatian game development veterans with 20+ years of experience in the game industry

- Major success of SCUM Early Access release

- Independence – Gamepires owned 100% of publishing and IP rights on SCUM

- Attractive market niche – next-generation open world survival games

- Strong potential for further development of SCUM – official release, platform versions, DLCs and other adaptations

The Investor

Jagex develops and publishes free-to-play online games for players around the world. A leader in creating deep and engaging experiences on PC and mobile, Jagex is today one of the UK’s biggest and most respected video game developers and publishers. Famed for its flagship MMOs RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, Jagex has welcomed more than 300 million player accounts to its world and created a $1bn lifetime franchise revenue. Through acquisitions and third-party publishing, Jagex continues to leverage its expertise to create an industry leading family of community-driven studios and live service games.

In 2021, Jagex was acquired by The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), one of the largest mega-funds in the world, to support the company’s growth strategy, including M&A. Carlyle is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $369 billion of assets under management.