Seeking merger, acquisition, or anything
Norwegian developer Funcom is seemingly in financial peril after its free-to-play turned pay-to-play gameLego Minifigures Onlineperformed worse than expected. The company doesn’t expect revenues from theLegotitle to be able to meet debt obligations that are due in June 2016.
As reported byGamesIndustry Internationalearlier this week, Funcom has stated that it’s “reviewing its strategic options” and that it’s “actively seeking interested parties for discussion surrounding a possible investment, acquisition, merger, or any other available options.” Basically, Funcom needs cash, and it needs it stat.
The PC version ofLego Minifigures Onlineis the main culprit for these money woes. Funcom says that it’s this platform that isn’t hitting sales expectations. The iOS version is performing decently, but the lower price point means that it’s not enough to offset PC’s shortcomings.
While this is obviously bad news for Funcom, it’s not entirely unprecedented. It seems as if it’s kind of the same old song and dance for the developer. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the company reported losses of $23 million afterAge of Conan‘s unsuccessful launch. Likewise, Funcom laid off half of its staff in 2012 afterThe Secret World‘s poor release.
Time and time again, this developer has restructured and survived. Having your back up against the wall isn’t an ideal situation, but it’s a familiar one for Funcom.
Funcom open to merger, acquisition, etc.[GamesIndustry International]
