Focus Entertainment has acquired first-person shooter developer BlackMill Games from their previous majority stake holder M2H Games. Founder Jos Hoebe will continue to own 33.33% of the company, and will continue to lead the team of 15 at the studio as they develop even more shooters based on World War 1.
BlackMill Games became well known after it developed WW1 Verdun, which was released in 2015, and sold well enough to be followed up with WW1 Tannenberg in 2017. The third entry in the series, WW1 Isonzo, has been released on consoles and the various PC game stores today, and will let players experience ‘mountain warfare during the First World War as Italy clashes with the Austro-Hungarian Empire’.
“I’m proud and excited for the upcoming launch of Isonzo, and teaming up with Focus Entertainment, which is a larger and more experienced partner, will help the series to reach its full potential” Hoebe said. “The fans of our games can expect the same dedication and passion that we have delivered the past ten years with Verdun and Tannenberg but elevated to new heights with Isonzo and this partnership.”
Including BlackMill Games, Focus Entertainment has acquired six studios in the last two years, with Deck 13, Streum On Studio, Dotemu, Douze Dixièmes and Leiker Studio making up the rest of their somewhat eclectic but successful roster of European video game development houses.