Devolver Digital acquires Serious Sam developer Croteam

(Image credit: Croteam)

After publishing the last two Serious Sam games, a couple of HD remakes, and The Talos Principle, Devolver Digital has decided to simplify the relationship by acquiring developer Croteam—or, as Devolver put it in the announcement, getting "hitched."

"A decade ago Devolver Digital was just getting started and looking for its first project to partner on in the emerging digital distribution world," Devolver said. "Similarly, Croteam was on the search for a partner it could trust to help them bring their beloved franchise back to prominence with the upcoming Serious Sam 3. And like that, the next big Serious Sam game brought old partners back together and forged a decade of friendship and dedication

"Since then Croteam and Devolver Digital have partnered on dozens of games—from the frantic Serious Sam series to the award-winning The Talos Principle across PC, consoles, VR and mobile platforms. Croteam and Devolver Digital have been dating for so long that we decided to go ahead and just get married."

The "old partners" mention is a reference to Gathering of Developers, which got the ball rolling when it published Serious Sam: The First Encounter in 2001. Gathering of Developers was founded in 1998 by Mike Wilson, who went on to co-found Devolver Digital in 2009. Croteam also alluded to the long-standing relationship in an announcement on Twitter.

We are extremely happy and proud to announce that Croteam has become a part of the Devolver Digital family. Our relationship goes back decades, and we're very excited to make it even deeper with this move. Here's to many years of amazing Devolver Digital games by Croteam! https://t.co/0r9DueRBnIOctober 21, 2020

Devolver indicated that the acquisition will have little impact on the working relationship, saying that Croteam will "keep total creative freedom," while it will "keep making dumb recommendations that Croteam just ignores."

Future Croteam games include The Talos Principle 2, which is still in the works, as well as more Serious Sam, and new games from the studio and its Croteam Incubator partners.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.