Bloober Team, the studio behind The Medium, has reportedly been eyed up by multiple companies within the industry to be acquired recently. Originally, it was in talks with many of these officials, but it is now said to have withdrawn from discussions as it feels it could damage future projects.
As transcribed by VGC, a press release from Banker.pl has revealed that Bloober Team has walked away from being acquired "due to the high risk of losing its overriding strategic objectives". Instead, it wishes to focus and prioritise its upcoming projects that are planned.
"The company has decided not to continue discussions with potential financial and industry investors interested in acquiring a majority stake due to the high risk of losing its overriding strategic objectives. At this stage it would be incompatible with the culture of the organisation, and would significantly limit the potential growth of the company’s value in the coming years, especially taking into account the projects implemented and planned."
The press release goes on to state that the company could be focusing on making investments in other companies, as a means to help assist on its upcoming titles.
"Moreover, the company, having spare financial resources, has the possibility of making investments aimed at increasing its fundamental value. In connection with this, the management board of the company considers making investments in companies complementing the issuer’s operations in order to increase its production and sales capabilities."
There are plans already in motion at Bloober Team, as work is already underway on its next project. The studio revealed last month that it is in fact working on an established horror IP with "a very famous gaming publisher". It's unclear who this may be, but it's definitely fun to speculate. We're hoping Konami for a new Silent Hill entry.
What do you think Bloober Team could be working on? Let us know in the comments below.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 13
I'm always confused whenever people talk about how "bad" Bloober Team's games are. I've played Layers of Fear 1 and it's one of the best horror game experiences I've ever had. I've also played Blair Witch and while it wasn't as good as Layers of Fear 1, it still was a decent game.
The hate towards this company just feels so unwarranted, just like how everyone likes to hate on Ubisoft. It's almost like people are trying to make it cool to hate on certain companies even though they make great games. I genuinely don't understand the criticism towards this company, even when people write stuff like "walking simulators with clunky controls". Walking simulators can be phenomenal games and clunky controls doesn't really make sense in terms of walking simulators because you don't need tight controls in order to simply walk around.
I'll be sure to check out their other titles soon, such as Observer and Layers of Fear 2, in order to further reinforce my belief that Bloober is a great developer. I'm certainly not going to base my opinion of a company simply on one game, especially when they have made others prior to it.
@Medic_Alert i fully agree with what you say, Bloober Team's games are just mediocre to decent. I do enjoy playing them even though I hate horror games, but I can see their shortcomings, as can most of the people who play their games apparently.
I still need to give The Medium a play sometime soon, Seems like it's a hit or miss for alot of people..
@LtSarge It's just sheep being sheep, will hate on what they see others hate on
I'm just glad to see a company not being eaten up for once.
@Meehanuk Or as they call it on Push Square: Games of the Year material
@Medic_Alert I just find it weird how opinions can vary so much with regards to their games when there's very little inherently wrong with them. The primary argument that most people use is that their games just don't do enough to be "better". But I ask then, what exactly can be done to make them "better"? Take the first Layers of Fear as an example; it's a first-person walking simulator with psychological horror elements. It messes with your mind by utilising the first-person view in order to change things in the environment when you're not looking in a certain direction. That's something I have never experienced in a horror game before, not to mention that the game barely has any monsters and instead uses the environment in order to scare you. The developers have implemented the scares very effectively using these uncommon methods in the horror genre. What exactly is underwhelming about this? That people don't get scared by these moments? That doesn't have to mean that the blame falls solely on the developers. It could also mean that people have simply become desensitised by horror games after playing so many of them. It's not an argument that holds water because of the many external factors that affect it.
I just feel like the arguments against Bloober's games are weak. They're vague and unsubstantiated, not to mention mostly based on a brief one-time experience. In short, the criticism towards this developer is quite frankly unjustified.
Bloobers games arent the best so maybe a takeover would of helped them, so far I wouldn't rate any of their games higher than a 6/10, maybe they should make a game for a different genre instead of generic horrors or go all out and make something on the level of the evil within or resident evil 7
@Medic_Alert I never said blaming the player fully. I said the blame shouldn't fall "solely" on the developer. Let's say that I've played so many horror games that I never get scared anymore, then I play a horror game and claim that the game isn't scary, is that then the developer's fault? Also, if I get scared by the jumpscares, but another person doesn't get scared by the same ones, does that mean the jumpscares have failed or succeeded?
The topic of scares in video games is not cut and dried. But people love to deflect blame without stopping for a second to apply some self-awareness.
Anyway, I'm definitely going to aim to play more Bloober games in the future. Because I'll admit, having only played Layers of Fear 1 and Blair Witch doesn't provide me with as strong of a case as if I'd played the majority of their titles. The same goes for you, having only played The Medium doesn't mean that all their games are mediocre and underwhelming or that the company is bad. You don't judge a company based on one example. Play more of their games and find out for yourself what kind of developer they actually are. Or don't, it's up to you.
@Meehanuk So pretty much every game ever that isn't 100% based on another form of locomotion.
I really liked The Medium and finished it for the second time a day ago just to get the last two achievements I missed first time around.
I think they have much promise and really look forward to their next game. I also don't get the hate their currently receiving, seems to have sprung up since they released The Medium.
@LtSarge
I don't understand it when the same people that complain about The Medium having "clunky controls" also wish that they don't get to make a "mediocre Silent Hill game, and kill the franchise for another decade." If they had actually played a Silent Hill game, they'd know just how clunky the controls are in that series. 🤭
@gingataisen That's actually an excellent point. I've only played bits of the first Silent Hill, but I've heard that 1-3 all have tank controls and yeah the controls in SH1 were not optimal at all. They're fine in open areas but definitely not in tight spaces.
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