The new owner of Playstack promises to uphold the publisher's autonomy

The landscape of acquisitions in the gaming industry often comes with mass layoffs and restructurings that strip purchased companies of their unique identities. Defying this concerning trend, Playstack's CEO, Harvey Elliott, guaranteed that the acquisition by Integrated Media Company (IMC) — a holding company that also manages media brands like GameSpot and Fandom — will not lead to a merger of their operations. The company, known for recent hits such as Balatro and Abiotic Factor, will continue to operate independently in the publishing domain.

"IMC isn't a huge organization on its own," explained Harvey Elliott in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. "They have four verticals operating in different areas, and we are in game publishing, which is vastly different from what they do. Even though they have some gaming-related things, we're not in the same division."

This structural separation means the studio will retain its own localization, quality assurance, and financial departments, without the imposition of external systems or interference in design choices. It's reassuring to see the new owners appear to respect the team's technical expertise, safeguarding the jobs of those who've built the publisher's reputation.

The search for a new buyer commenced last year, fueled by Playstack's own growth. Under previous ownership by TruFin, the publisher had grown too large for the holding's portfolio, representing about 80% of the group's business. This excessive concentration stifled decision-making, as any bold move by the games division directly affected the financial health of the parent company. With the scale provided by IMC, there's an expectation to expand this investment ceiling, creating room for funding projects with slightly longer development timelines, though leadership promises to remain grounded and guide spending based on thorough data analysis.

The company's release schedule is set with plenty of leeway in the calendar. Nine titles are planned for this year, most of the 2027 schedule is already finalized, and there's a solid plan laid out until 2028, focusing mainly on new intellectual properties. While the studio manages sequels of established franchises like Mortal Shell and The Case of the Golden Idol, the main objective is to maintain a diverse and quirky product line.

This careful selection has resulted in significant commercial success in recent months. Data gathered by GameDiscoverCo shows the coin-pushing game Raccoin, released in March by the Doraccoon studio, has already surpassed 650,000 copies sold.

The major advantage of Playstack's business model lies in a rather unusual commercial rule in today's market: the publisher does not retain profits from a title until the developers themselves start earning money from the project. This ethical stance towards the sustainability of partner studios helps explain why the company is frequently awarded as one of the best places to work.

Investing in productions with budgets under one million dollars based on human insight and direct contact with creators has proven to be a much smarter strategy than burning hundreds of millions of dollars on generic blockbusters that flop at launch. It remains to be seen if the financial backing of the new owner will help pave the way for the brand's expansion into new markets without compromising this developer-centric philosophy that has brought it this far.