Team17 has acquired fast-growing videogame Hell Let Loose as well as a studio in the US as it reports strong annual trading performance.
Hell Let Loose is an existing third-party title at the label and has been brought into its first-party family for an initial consideration of £31 million plus a contingent earnout consideration of up to £15m.
The acquisition’s initial consideration will be satisfied through a combination of £19.75m in cash from existing reserves and the issue of shares valued at £11.25m.
A multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game which already has over six million owners and a highly engaged community, HLL was created by developer Black Matter and is co-developed and published across multiple platforms by Team17.
The game allows players to fight in iconic battles of the Western and Eastern Fronts of World War 2 and was initially released for Microsoft Windows as an early access title on 6 June 2019, with a full release in July 2021. HLL was released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 5 October 2021.
It will be the first signing under a new core gaming label to be created under the group.
“Having built a close and extremely productive relationship with Black Matter already, we believe that by bringing Hell Let Loose into the Team17 stable, we can serve and build upon the needs of an ever-growing community, improve and expand upon the existing player experience and develop new ways to entertain and delight,” said Michael Pattison, CEO at Team17 Games Label.
“We firmly believe Hell Let Loose can become the definitive large-scale team-based military simulation. This acquisition represents an important next step in our strategy to expand our ownership of IP that is not only of the highest quality, but importantly has long-term growth potential.”
Meanwhile it has acquired The Label, a San Francisco-based indie publisher specialising in mobile subscription games content, for an initial consideration of almost £18m with additional earnout consideration of up to almost £12m. The total consideration will be paid through a combination of cash and shares.
Team17 says the acquisition represents a significant strategic milestone, enabling its games label to extend its reach into the high-growth mobile subscription segment of the games industry.
The Label was a launch partner to both Apple and Google subscription gaming services. It accelerates the growth of emerging indie games studios by providing the funding, marketing and design expertise to form enduring relationships with subscription platforms.
Team17 also said revenue and adjusted EBITDA for FY2021 will be ahead of its management’s expectations.
“We are pleased with the 2021 performance, in which we continued to execute on our highly ambitious pipeline alongside completing the acquisition of StoryToys,” said CEO Debbie Bestwick.
“Bringing StoryToys into the Team17 family sees us align our growth ambitions with their hugely talented team and is a clear marker for our future growth strategy.
“In addition, we are delighted with the acquisitions announced this morning. These further support our content and people growth plans.
“We look forward to working with them as part of our growing Team17 Group in 2022.”