Bigpoint Takes Over Radon Labs, Confirms Drakensang 3

In a surprising move the browser game giant Bigpoint (Bigpoint.com game portal) announced the acquisition of the insolvent Drakensang developer Radon Labs. Here's the full PR (bold print acc. to source, underlines added).

Bigpoint Acquires Highly Acclaimed Game Development Studio, Radon Labs; Establishes Bigpoint Berlin GmbH

• Acquisition includes over 35 employees from Radon Labs
• eLOFD GmbH to be renamed Bigpoint Berlin GmbH; expansion planned
• Drakensang 3 presumably to be launched in 2011

Hamburg, 1st June, 2010 – Bigpoint GmbH (http://bigpoint.com), the worldwide leader in browser-based video games, today announced the acquisition of Radon Labs (http://radonlabs.de), an award-winning game development studio that recently filed for bankruptcy due to financial concerns. With this acquisition, Bigpoint gains more than 35 new employees, including Radon Labs Managing Directors Bernd Beyreuther and André Blechschmidt, who will remain with Bigpoint and direct its newly established Berlin office.

Bigpoint CEO and Founder, Heiko Hubertz, views the deal as an important strategic move for the company, “Under Bernd and André’s leadership, Radon Labs became one of Germany’s top three development studios. We’re excited to add their highly qualified workforce to Bigpoint as we continue to push the limits of what’s possible in online gaming. This acquisition is also greater proof that the market continues to consolidate. As such, we plan to purchase additional studios, both in Germany and abroad, to support our long-term growth strategy.”

2010 marks an important year for Bigpoint’s global expansion, with new locations now operational in Berlin and San Francisco (Bigpoint Inc.), in addition to Malta (Bigpoint International) and the company’s headquarters in Hamburg. In recent months, Bigpoint’s workforce has increased to over 500 employees worldwide.

Bigpoint Berlin GmbH Opens
Since its founding in 1995, Radon Labs became known as one of the best game development studios in Germany, developing more than 20 PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and NDS titles that garnered over a dozen awards. The Berlin-based company’s most popular games are its first two Drakensang titles. In keeping with Bigpoint’s focus, Drankensang 3 – the next installment from the extremely successful fantasy RPG series – will be released in 2011.

Bigpoint’s acquisition of Radon Labs coincides with the opening of a new office in Berlin, a decision that first took root in 2009 with Bigpoint’s acquisition of eLOFD GmbH, a game development studio also based in Germany’s capital. The new location officially took the name Bigpoint Berlin GmbH at the end of May 2010. Under the Bigpoint brand, former eLOFD employees will continue to develop browser-based video games alongside their new colleagues from Radon Labs.

The real surprise is the Drakensang 3 announcement. It's unclear as of now if Bigpoint really intents to branch out into the full price retail game business. Another possibility would be that it could only be an adequate farewell for Radon Labs and their The Dark Eye project negotiated into the acquisition contract. Time will tell. What's clear though is that Bigpoint has enough money behind to stem Drakensang 3 alone, including international distribution. Maybe Bigpoint even is even planning a DSA browser MMO, but that's pure speculation.