A census by Game Studio Unlocked author Sebastian Cardoso records 123 closures among 362 acquired game developers, about 34%. His November 5 update includes 392 studios in all. He counts 30 support and co-development studios separately when calculating the outcomes for developers.
Which outcomes the study measures
Cardoso assessed each developer against its own history. His grading includes the games a studio produced and whether it retained its identity and ability to develop its own titles. A studio absorbed into a parent or moved to support work could therefore receive a decline grade even where its games continued to perform.
Why the time since acquisition matters
A studio acquired two decades ago has had far longer to close than one bought last year. Cardoso also studied the 315 developers acquired by 2021 and held for at least five years. In that group, 19.7% closed within five years of the deal. Both figures describe the author’s sample. Neither comparison isolates the effect of acquisition from the other pressures on developers.
For a current example of how a proposed closure can develop, see the Arkane Lyon union’s response to Microsoft’s proposal.
