Frontier Developments Acquires Complex Games For $18.2 Million

A leading UK-based developer and publisher of videogames, Frontier Developments plc, has announced the acquisition of Complex Games Inc.

Complex Games, is a renowned, Canada-based game production studio very well known for the creation of the widely acclaimed turn-based tactical RPG, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters which was released under the Frontier Foundry third-party games label in May 2022.

The debut of Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters was Foundry’s most successful to date, and it received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response.

Major Takeaways:

• Frontier Developments announces acquisition of Complex Games.
• The acquisition follows both studios’ earlier successful collaboration.
• Companies desire to keep producing more successful games.

The information represents Frontier’s first acquisition of a development studio. The acquisition marks a continuation of the business’s commitment to growth and expansion, expanding Frontier’s catalog of genre-leading titles and giving the company a primary development foothold in Manitoba, Canada.

For an initial cash payment of CAD $13 million (GBP£8.3 million), Frontier has bought 100% of the stock in Complex Games. Up to CAD$5.16 million (GBP£3.3 million) in conditional deferred cash consideration will be paid if Complex reaches specific operational benchmarks by the end of 2023.

Frontier will use its available cash resources to pay the maximum upfront and deferred payment of up to CAD$18.16 million (GBP£11.6 million).

As can be observed from Frontier’s strategic objectives, It establishes a key development footprint for Frontier in Manitoba, Canada, an area with a large and expanding talent pool for videogame development. To accommodate future growth, Frontier plans to expand its Winnipeg development staff.

Additionally, in the near future, Complex Games and Frontier will be able to cultivate Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters even more successfully thanks to the closer collaboration made possible by the Acquisition.

The CEOs of both foundations have expressed support for the merger. Frontier’s CEO, Jonny Watts, said:

“When we launched our third-party publishing strategy in 2019 we were excited by the potential to align our Frontier Foundry development partners more formally with Frontier through acquisition. Our experience with Complex Games on Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters has been terrific, and I am delighted to welcome Noah and the team to Frontier.”

Additionally, as this is Frontier’s first acquisition, they will keep looking for ways to expand their resources in order to expand and care for their portfolio.

Noah Decter-Jackson, Complex Games CEO commented that Working with Frontier on Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters has been a great experience and he is excited about their growth plans for the Winnipeg studio. He further commented:

“I am really proud of Complex Games’ achievements and I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved with that success over many years. I look forward to developing even more great games in the future as part of Frontier.”

The 20-person team at Complex Games, according to Frontier Developments, has a wealth of expertise in developing games for a range of platforms and game genres.

As a result of the acquisition, Complex Games and Frontier will be able to work together even more closely in the future to create even more ambitious games while still supporting Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters.