Hybrid developer/publisher Reforged Studios has acquired UK studios Ground Shatter and Extra Mile (or EM Studios) for an undisclosed fee.
Reforged, which started up in 2023, touts itself as a studio that acquires other teams to assist them with their games. Per the website, this “helps grow their success in a sustainable way that avoids the ‘boom & bust’ cycles devs often face on their own.”
Ground Shatter is best known for Fights in Tight Spaces, and Extra Mile as the co-developer on Revolution Software’s Broken Sword series. Reforged called them its first two buys of 2024, and added more acquisitions would be revealed later in the year.
More acquisitions on the way for Reforged
In fact, CEO Peter van der Watt said the two studios were at the “very top” of Reforged’s acquisition list. According to him, both teams “were as excited about the possibilities as we were.”
For Ground Shatter founder James Parker, joining Reforged “provides [us with] the potential to grow further and faster with the support and the resources of the Reforged Studios group.”
Extra Mile leader Bobby Farmer added that his team will help Reforged meet its dream of taking on “bigger scale outsourcing projects. Accepting Reforged’s offer “seemed like the perfect fit for us.”
According to the game plan on Reforged’s website, both studios will maintain creative control as their parent company provides resources and funding. What else it has to offer, particularly as a developer in its own right, will be revealed over time.