Lookin’ for another pay day
After more than a decade developing games, Starbreeze Studios finally had a runaway hit on its hands in 2013 with Payday 2. It’s seemingly that influx of Payday cash that has allowed Starbreeze to open a publishing arm of its business. That arm is making some aggressive moves.
In what will be its fourth signed game, Starbreeze has agreed to publish System Shock 3. The terms of the agreement involve a $12 million investment. Developer OtherSide will pay back an additional 20 percent, totaling $14.4 million. After the investment sum is repaid, the two companies will split revenue equally. OtherSide retains complete control of the System Shock property.
This is the second major publishing deal Starbreeze has struck in as many months. In February, it was announced that Starbreeze had signed Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2 for additional funding on top of what was raised in its crowdfunding campaign. That investment was for $8 million.
Between the two projects, Starbreeze has found a quick way to float $20 million. Gotta spend money to make money; gotta crack some eggs to make an omelette; nothing ventured, nothing gained. Somewhere along the way, Starbreeze figured out that you don’t have to rob banks to get another pay day.
