Weekly News Digest #13

Behaviour Interactive: The Fun Pimps Acquisition

Canada-based Behaviour Interactive has acquired The Fun Pimps, a US-based PC & Console game developer best known for the title 7 Days to Die, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is Behaviour’s sixth studio acquisition since May’22 and its first purchase of a scaled, revenue-generating independent studio based outside Canada. The five preceding acquisitions are catalogued later in this feature. The Fun Pimps’ co-founding leadership retains full creative control over 7 Days to Die. Behaviour Interactive will provide additional production capacity, expert support, and back-office resources to accelerate the game’s existing development roadmap.

The acquisition advances Behaviour’s strategy of assembling a horror IP portfolio. CEO of Behaviour Interactive, Rémi Racine, described 7 Days to Die as “an ideal complement to Dead by Daylight, as both games have steadily grown alongside their communities.” Together, Dead by Daylight, Darkest Dungeon, and 7 Days to Die cover three distinct horror subgenres: asymmetric multiplayer, gothic RPG, and open-world survival. Beyond genre fit, the deal carries an operational rationale. The company’s in-house engineering, design, and player support teams, built over a decade of Dead by Daylight DLC releases, can potentially improve the quality of future spin-offs.

• Annual revenue grew from $9m (2014) to a peak of $72m (2023), a ~26% CAGR over the period, driven by Alpha 19, a major new game version, launching in Jun’20 during COVID lockdowns, with Alphas 20 and 21 each generating successive buyer inflows.
• Despite the game’s official Jul’24 release after more than 10 years in Early Access, revenue contracted ~56% from the $72m peak, stepping down to $32m (2025).
• The 2025 marked the introduction of DLC revenue streams alongside the base game, signaling a shift toward layered post-launch monetization ahead of the acquisition.
  

• Annual active players grew from 4 million (2016) to 15 million in 2024, peaking with the game’s official Jul’24 release, then moderating to 13 million in 2025.
• Steam’s share of new paid unit sales rose to 96% by 2023, as PS4/Xbox One versions stopped receiving updates after 2017, rendering them significantly less competitive than the continuously updated PC version; the Jul’24 Console Edition launch recovered the combined console share to 20% by 2025.
• Despite 13 million active players, new paid unit sales fell to ~1.2 million in 2025; the 3 million sales of the previous year were driven by a pre-launch 76%-off sale ahead of the $44.99 price increase and console players’ mandatory re-purchase of the new-generation edition.

The Fun Pimps was founded in late 2012 in Allen, Texas, by brothers Richard and Joel Huenink and Christian Lang. The studio funded its growth from three founders to a team of 70 entirely through 7 Days to Die revenues, with no institutional financing before this acquisition. 

Founded in 1992 in Montreal, Behaviour Interactive is Canada’s one of the largest independent video game studio. Its flagship IP, Dead by Daylight (launched Jun’16), has attracted nearly 70 million players. Behaviour’s capital history includes a strategic minority investment by China-based NetEase Games (NASDAQ: NTES) in 2019, an increase in 2022, and a 2022 equity round in which Haveli Investments joined as a new investor, as we referenced on our website.

The acquisition extends Behaviour’s consolidation cycle, growing the company from 575 to approximately 1,200 employees through six studio purchases since May’22:

• US-based Midwinter Entertainment was added to the portfolio in May’22 and subsequently shut down in Sep’24 following the cancellation of its project.
• UK-based SockMonkey Studios was acquired in Feb’23 and now operates as Behaviour UK – North.
• Netherlands-based Codeglue was acquired in Aug’23 and renamed Behaviour Rotterdam.
• Canada-based Fly Studio joined the group in Mar’24.
• Red Hook Studios, a Canada-based games developer of the Darkest Dungeon game series, was acquired in Oct’24

The acquisition cycle continued despite two workforce reductions in 2024: approximately 45 employees in Jan’24 and a further 95 in Jun’24 (approximately 7% of total headcount), as well as the Sep’24 closure of Midwinter Entertainment. The purchase of The Fun Pimps, an independent studio with a proven long-cycle IP, represents a shift toward acquiring productive, revenue-generating assets rather than developing new IP internally. As stated by CEO Racine, “It is very difficult to create new IP. Our strategy is partnering with existing IPs that we think together we could grow better.”

We will continue to monitor the integration of The Fun Pimps into Behaviour’s horror portfolio and the commercial trajectory of 7 Days to Die under its new ownership.

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Singapore-based game art outsourcing company Winking Studios (AIM: WKS) has acquired Canada-based game art outsourcing studio AMPERA for ~$380k (CAD 525k), paid in cash and through the deferred issuance of 10 million of new Winking Studios ordinary shares, subject to certain conditions, with up to 35 million additional shares contingent on the achievement of cumulative adjusted EBITDA of ~$33m over 2026-2031 and the company’s volume-weighted average price reaching specified annual targets. The deal is expected to close in Apr’26, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. AMPERA’s founder, Claude Bordeleau, will join Winking Studios as Chief Revenue Officer. Founded in Nov’25, AMPERA provides art outsourcing services to game publishers and serves as Winking’s first North American studio. Ranked 4th globally by game art outsourcing revenue, Winking has pursued an acquisition strategy since its dual-listing IPO on London AIM in Nov’24, most recently acquiring China-based art outsourcing studio Mineloader Digital for ~$20m.

Malta-based games developer and publisher Reforged Studios has acquired Germany-based indie game publisher Headup GmbH for an undisclosed sum. Headup’s portfolio includes the construction puzzle series Bridge Constructor, the action platformer Pumpkin Jack (2020), and the action precision platformer Super Meat Boy 3D, scheduled for release on Mar 31, 2026. The deal is Reforged’s fourth studio acquisition since its 2023 founding, following the Aug’24 purchases of Ground Shatter and Extra Mile Studios and the Dec’24 acquisition of Yellow Lab Games. Headup founder Dieter Schoeller will continue managing the publisher’s operations and join Reforged as Chief Publishing Officer at the group level. 

VENTURE FINANCING

China-based StoReel, an AI-native short-drama content platform, has secured a $9m equity Seed round, alongside a $25m user-growth financing. The equity round was led by Play Ventures, with participation from T-Accelerate Capital, Tirta Ventures, and VRF, while PVX Partners provided UA financing. Funds will support AI content production, expansion of the creator ecosystem, and global user growth. StoReel operates two products: StoReel App, a short-drama streaming platform targeting English-speaking markets, and StoReel Canvas, a one-stop AI production tool for creators. The company aims to reach a monthly output of 100 AI short dramas by the end of 2026.

Israel-based AI-powered user acquisition platform Sett has raised $30m in Series B funding led by Greenfield Partners, with participation from existing investors F2 and Bessemer Venture Partners, and Ben Feder of Tirta Ventures (former CEO of Take-Two Interactive), bringing total funding to $57m. The round follows a $15m Series A raised in May’25. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and support global expansion. Sett develops an agentic user acquisition platform for gaming companies, automating end-to-end player acquisition and ad creative production. The company’s client base includes industry leaders such as Zynga, Playtika, and Papaya. Founded in 2023 by CEO Amit Carmi and CTO Yoni Blumenfeld, the company currently employs approximately 50 people and plans to expand its platform beyond gaming into fintech, apps, and e-commerce by the end of 2026.

US-based animation and game development company Sans Strings Studio has raised $5.5m in Series Seed funding led by Red River West, with participation from a16z speedrun, Sisu Game Ventures, Kima Ventures, and angel investors. The studio is developing F.E.L.T. (Fuzz-E Logic Toolset), a real-time performance animation system, and its debut title, the boxing game Felt That: Boxing, which is set to launch on Steam in 2026. Proceeds will support completion of Felt That: Boxing and a signed mini-series contract with an undisclosed entertainment franchise. Ryan Corniel and Sebastien Deguy, an Academy Award and Emmy-winning computer graphics specialist, co-founded Sans Strings.

Verse8, a South Korea-based AI-powered game creation platform, has raised $5m in Seed funding co-led by Story Foundation, NEXPACE, and MARBLEX. Funds will support AI system upgrades, creator onboarding, and global distribution infrastructure. The platform enables creators to build fully playable multiplayer games using natural language prompts. Verse8 has reached 3.5 million monthly active users since launching in Jul’25, with over 5,000 creators producing approximately 25,000 games.

US-based PC games developer and publisher Psychedelic Games has raised $3.5m in funding from South Korea-based gaming holding KRAFTON (KRX: 259960), North American esports organization FlyQuest, and blockchain gaming initiative Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, to support development of the pirate-themed adventure MOBA Golden Tides. The investment marks FlyQuest’s first direct stake in a game studio. The Dallas-based team comprises veterans of the multiplayer online battle arena League of Legends, the battle royale Fortnite, and the survival title ARK: Survival Evolved, among other major titles.

PUBLIC OFFERINGS

Sweden-based Stillfront Group (STO: SF) has issued ~$106m (SEK 1B) in senior unsecured floating rate bonds with a four-year tenor. Proceeds will refinance the company’s existing 2023/2027 bonds and fund general corporate purposes. DNB Carnegie Investment Bank, Nordea Bank, and SB1 Markets arranged the issuance. Stillfront is a gaming holding group operating approximately 18 studios, with a portfolio spanning mobile, web browser, and PC titles across strategy, casual, social, and RPG genres.

India-based gaming company Nazara Technologies (NSE: NAZARA) is set to raise ~$53m (Rs 500 crore) through a preferential allotment of warrants to five investors: Riambel Capital, S Gupta Family Investments, Plutus Investment and Holding Private Limited (Promoter Group), Classic Enterprises, and Founders Collective. Each warrant is convertible into one equity share at Rs 260, a premium to the company’s Mar 30, 2026, closing price of Rs 232.35. The proceeds will support Nazara’s global expansion, including the $100.3m (Rs 918 crore) acquisition of Spain-based gaming studio Bluetile and rewards-driven gaming platform BestPlay, Nazara’s largest acquisition to date, which we covered in our previous Digest.