The creators of the popular battle royale Garena: Free Fire purchased Phoenix Labs. The studio developed the free-to-play action Dauntless.
Dauntless
Garena announced the purchase today, Gamesindustry.biz reports. Details are scarce. How much Garena paid for Phoenix Labs is not disclosed. What’s known, however, is that the studio will get funding while retaining creative freedom, and its CEO Jesse Houston will keep his position.
For Garena, it is not the most obvious acquisition. The company specializes in mobile games and mainly targets Southeast Asia. Phoenix Labs is a Vancouver-based studio that develops games for PC and consoles aiming for the AAA quality.
Nevertheless, both companies said that it would allow them to become stronger in these areas. Phoenix Labs plans to enter the mobile segment and establish itself in new regions. These include not just Southeast Asia, but also Latin America, where Garena is present. Garena’s battle royale has already become the highest grossing mobile title in these markets.
Right now, however, Phoenix Labs is fully focused on supporting Dauntless. The game about hunting giant monsters attracted 3 million players during soft launch. After the release, its audience quickly grew to 14 million. An impressive result for an indie game!