TinyBuild takes over Ukraine-Russian games studio Demagic

Video games developer and publisher tinyBuild announced the ‘acquihire’ of Demagic Games - a development studio with 23 staff currently based in Ukraine and Russia - on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm had been working with Demagic for more than a year on a number of projects including Hello Neighbor 2, some unannounced titles, and more recently Deadside.

By bringing Demagic in-house, the company said it expected to reduce dependencies on external studios, and increase visibility on the production process in line with its core strategy.

The small acquihire would have no material impact on the company's earnings, tinyBuild said.

As part of the initial consideration on signing, the company said it would issue 621,006 new shares at a price of 194.13p each.

The new shares would be subject to a 12-month lock-up period.

“We are delighted to announce our first acquihire this year, and to extend to all Demagic staff our support to alleviate the challenges of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” said chief executive officer Alex Nichiporchik.

“Demagic has already made a strong contribution to the development of Hello Neighbor 2 and it brings a highly skilled porting team.”

Nichiporchik said the company’s goal was to “expand and diversify” its position as a global developer and publisher, focusing on intellectual property ownership while creating long-term scalable franchises across multiple media formats.

“In addition, we are looking at a number of other potential acquihires and larger scale acquisitions to enhance the company's strategic and operational position.”

At 1223 BST, shares in tinyBuild were up 1.65% at 190.6p.