Today, Behaviour Interactive who made Dead by Daylight announced they have acquired Darkest Dungeon developer Red Hook Studios.
In a statement shared on social media the Behaviour Interactive account posted this:
“The way is lit. The path is clear.”
Today, we’re ecstatic to announce our acquisition of Red Hook Studios. Darkest Dungeon has long been a series we’ve admired, enjoyed (and maybe even lost a little sleep over) as fans, and the opportunity to welcome Red Hook as a fully independent studio under the Behaviour banner is nothing short of a thrill. We look forward to supporting Red Hook as they continue to do what they do best: put your sanity to the test.
This will no doubt sting a little, and continues to show the gaming industry being quite messy, considering Behaviour Interactive closed down Midwinter Entertainment and cancelled their Project T only six days ago.
Pictured - Darkest Dungeon II
From the press releases:
"It's a privilege to welcome a developer of Red Hook's caliber," stated Rémi Racine, Behaviour's co-founder and CEO. "Earlier this year, we established an ambitious goal for our future as a publisher – to make Behaviour synonymous with horror and surround Dead by Daylight with a library of similarly exceptional horror games. Our acquisition of Red Hook is another emphatic step towards this objective, with more to come."
"We've found kindred spirits in the Behaviour team," stated Chris Bourassa, Red Hook's co-founder. "Both studios are Canadian, independent, and devoted to fantastic horror games. Where we differ is scale, which opens the door to new possibilities. Behaviour's support will help us pursue our vision for Red Hook's future and focus fully on transforming Darkest Dungeon into an absolute juggernaut of the dark fantasy genre."
"Joining forces with Behaviour is exciting on multiple levels," added Tyler Sigman, the second of Red Hook's co-founders. "They have demonstrated a commitment to allowing our team to continue developing Darkest Dungeon in the manner we know best, but with the benefit of their considerable knowledge and resources. We are stronger together than apart. Critically, there is a shared love of Darkest Dungeon, and with Behaviour's help, we can delve even deeper into the franchise."
"Darkest Dungeon offers a natural complement to Dead by Daylight," stated Stephen Mulrooney, Behaviour's Chief Product and Technical Officer. "Both franchises occupy unique points on the horror spectrum, and both offer their players deep, innovative gameplay and original, eldritch worlds. We're so excited to add Darkest Dungeon to Behaviour's horror portfolio. Not just because we're huge fans of the games, but also because of the unparalleled creativity and passion demonstrated by Chris, Tyler, and every member of the Red Hook team."
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
“Joining forces is exciting on multiple levels… we don't know if we can keep working on our projects without meddling and we don't know when we will be closed like our predecessor.”
Paraphrased for your reading convenience. The original contains lots of phrase bingo words like original, innovative, unique and portfolio.
Interesting timing.Sounds about right and pretty much no different than other studio acquisitions from bigger companies.
“Joining forces is exciting on multiple levels… we don't know if we can keep working on our projects without meddling and we don't know when we will be closed like our predecessor.”
Paraphrased for your reading convenience. The original contains lots of phrase bingo words like original, innovative, unique and portfolio.
Can't say I respect either studio, perhaps they're made for each other.
chickenb00 Sep 24
I can't say I like the Dead by Daylight devs (they include Easy Anti-Cheat malware with their "game", and afaik enforce cross play woth Epic Online Services malware) but I also can't say I like the Darkest Dungeon devs (Darkest Dungeon 2 was an Epic Exclusive).Epic announced they may no longer provide exclusivity deals with payments up front. that was a significant lifeline for Red Hook to the tune of many millions, so without it, maybe they're eager to accept buy-out cash from anyone who will offer it if it means they get to keep making games.
Can't say I respect either studio, perhaps they're made for each other.
I had fun playing DD1 and am proud to have beaten it on the original difficulty. Later play sessions have led to frustration and uninstalling. I just don't have time anymore for RNG ruining my fun, nor do I care for spending the tens of hours to beat RNG through sheer force of acquiring dozens of end game trinkets.
Epic announced they may no longer provide exclusivity deals with payments up front.
That is some good news at least. I wasn't concerned that they would take another deal, moreso that I am soured on any studio that accepts it (yes, even Tomorrow Corporation which is my profile picture, I am ashamed to have supported them). A buyout here is a better deal, but being bought by the team behind Dead by Daylight (or any developer that includes invasive client-side anti-cheat and/or Epic Online Services in their games) is just more reason to avoid anything from Red Hook Studios in the future.
I also own Darkest Dungeon, it was gifted to me and I played some hours of it, but it never gripped me. Perhaps it was the RNG that put me off. After the Epic deal for Darkest Dungeon 2, I had no reason to ever revisit it.
Last edited by sonic2kk on 24 September 2024 at 9:14 pm UTC
Epic announced they may no longer provide exclusivity deals with payments up front.
That is some good news at least. I wasn't concerned that they would take another deal, moreso that I am soured on any studio that accepts it (yes, even Tomorrow Corporation which is my profile picture, I am ashamed to have supported them). A buyout here is a better deal, but being bought by the team behind Dead by Daylight (or any developer that includes invasive client-side anti-cheat and/or Epic Online Services in their games) is just more reason to avoid anything from Red Hook Studios in the future.
I also own Darkest Dungeon, it was gifted to me and I played some hours of it, but it never gripped me. Perhaps it was the RNG that put me off. After the Epic deal for Darkest Dungeon 2, I had no reason to ever revisit it.
Both studios are makers of "OK" horror themed games so maybe they will fit together? I have at least had some fun with Dead by Daylight together with friends. Darkest Dungeon 1 was a brilliant game though.
At least Dead by Daylight is playable on Linux unlike many other games. I prefer we have the choice to accept intrusive anti-cheat or not.
Turkeysteaks Sep 25
I wasn't concerned that they would take another deal, moreso that I am soured on any studio that accepts it (yes, even Tomorrow Corporation which is my profile picture, I am ashamed to have supported them). A buyout here is a better deal, but being bought by the team behind Dead by Daylight (or any developer that includes invasive client-side anti-cheat and/or Epic Online Services in their games) is just more reason to avoid anything from Red Hook Studios in the future.
Don't get me wrong, I really hate that Epic was paying for exclusivity - but I absolutely cannot blame the devs for taking the deal. Would you rather make a game and be gifted the funds for it, or try to make a game and go bankrupt? Hell, even less extreme - would you rather work for 2-6 years and launch for a chance to go big and get paid, or launch with a significant cash sum and definitely get paid? I despise Epic for many reasons, and they are truly awful for consumers however I cannot deny that for developers, it is a no brainer. They offer lower fees (12% IIRC?) regardless of exclusivity, a cash sum if you do go exclusive with them, and their own tooling (Unreal, EOS, EAC). EOS is of course not as well developed as Steamworks as far as I'm aware, but paired with everything else it again makes sense for developers to go that route.
I personally find yet another acquisition within the games industry a much worse alternative.
I do find it funny that Epic exclusivity seems to be used as a beta period for games now though; they know they won't make much money on epic so they'll wait to release on steam once the exclusivity has dried up and their game is in an actual good state.
chickenb00 Sep 26
As an addendum to that, there are no restrictions on HOW you spend the exclusivity payment. You could buy your staff sports cars, or the founders could use 80% of the payout to buy themselves houses. Or they could pile the funding into wage costs or lease costs. I can't blame them for taking that deal either!I wasn't concerned that they would take another deal, moreso that I am soured on any studio that accepts it (yes, even Tomorrow Corporation which is my profile picture, I am ashamed to have supported them). A buyout here is a better deal, but being bought by the team behind Dead by Daylight (or any developer that includes invasive client-side anti-cheat and/or Epic Online Services in their games) is just more reason to avoid anything from Red Hook Studios in the future.
Don't get me wrong, I really hate that Epic was paying for exclusivity - but I absolutely cannot blame the devs for taking the deal. Would you rather make a game and be gifted the funds for it, or try to make a game and go bankrupt? Hell, even less extreme - would you rather work for 2-6 years and launch for a chance to go big and get paid, or launch with a significant cash sum and definitely get paid? I despise Epic for many reasons, and they are truly awful for consumers however I cannot deny that for developers, it is a no brainer. They offer lower fees (12% IIRC?) regardless of exclusivity, a cash sum if you do go exclusive with them, and their own tooling (Unreal, EOS, EAC). EOS is of course not as well developed as Steamworks as far as I'm aware, but paired with everything else it again makes sense for developers to go that route.
I personally find yet another acquisition within the games industry a much worse alternative.
I do find it funny that Epic exclusivity seems to be used as a beta period for games now though; they know they won't make much money on epic so they'll wait to release on steam once the exclusivity has dried up and their game is in an actual good state.
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me