Insurgency developer New World Interactive has been obtained by the owner of THQ Nordic. It seems that owner Embracer Group went on an August acquisition spree, scooping up a bunch of development studios. New World Interactive last released Insurgency: Sandstorm on PC in 2018 and is now working on console versions of the latest Insurgency game. Thanks to this acquisition, we now know that New World Interactive is working on something else too.
New World Interactive recently expanded from its Denver, Colorado base. The company now has teams working in Calgary, Ontario Canada. Now as a result of the acquisition, the developer has a near-term target to add another 50+ people in Canada between the Calgary studio and a new studio in Montreal. Considering the strength of the game development industry in Canada, it makes sense that Embracer Group wants to expand there. Once the new staff is settled in, New World Interactive will ramp up work on a new, unannounced franchise.
Saber support
We’ve also learned that the New World Interactive team will be working with Saber Interactive to complete existing projects. Specifically, the two are pairing up to bring Insurgency: Sandstorm to consoles. The port has been in the works for a while, and with multiple release dates passing by, the Insurgency developer seems to need assistance. Fortunately, Saber Interactive is experienced in the console field, so it should alleviate some pressure.
New World Interactive CEO Keith Warner expressed enthusiasm over the buyout. ”As part of Embracer Group and Saber Interactive, NWI will have access to publishing, marketing and other development resources to help grow and scale quickly. This will among other things improve development quality and add new platforms – we’re simply delighted to join,” said Warner.
The future of New World Interactive will be interesting to watch. Insurgency was a great success for the studio, but it seemed to be getting bogged down with console development. We will keep an eye out for news on its next franchise, but it sounds like it could be some time before we learn anything.
