Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment Company has acquired developer Lost Boys Interactive, a studio that co-developed Tiny Tina's Wonderlands with Gearbox. Lost Boys Interactive has also contributed to the development of major series such as Call of Duty and PUBG.
Gearbox acquired Lost Boys, adding more than 220 employees, bringing the total number of employees to approximately 1.300.
Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford said Lost Boys will have a positive impact on Gearbox and its future products.
Lost Boys was founded in 2017 and is also a company with offices in Texas. The studio aims to increase its staff to 2024 by 350.
Going forward, Lost Boys will be a subsidiary of Gearbox, owned by Embracer. Gearbox said Lost Boys will work independently as it works with Gearbox on new games. Shaun Nivens, CEO of Lost Boys, will report to Gearbox president Steve Jones.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Gearbox confirmed that Juno Capital Partners is assisting Gearbox as a "strategic advisor." Gearbox used Fenwick & West as its legal counsel.
Gearbox's acquisition of Lost Boys is the latest major acquisition of 2022, a year industry watchers expect to be among the biggest ever for M&A. Microsoft announced plans to buy Activision Blizzard this year, Sony offered to buy Bungie, and Take-Two is trying to take on Zynga with big acquisitions that could shake up the industry.