THQ Nordic has announced it has acquired German-based studio Piranha Bytes, with the deal also including the trademark and IP rights for the developer's Gothic, Risen and ELEX series.
Piranha Bytes will join THQ Nordic as a 100% subsidiary, operating under the name Piranha Bytes GmbH. The entire development team will focus solely on the development of RPGs and will keep "full creative freedom", with THQ Nordic taking on the role as the studio's publisher for future releases.
Björn Pankratz, Project Director and Game Designer of Piranha Bytes:
There are situations in life where you think to yourself “This feels right.” Well, this is exactly one of them. We have been working on some great and exciting things over the past couple of years and we are extremely stoked about what the future brings with the right partner and the right network of companies.
After all, we want to continue to create great, memorable, and impactful games with as much creative freedom as possible, and with THQ Nordic we know we are now part of a family, which supports us by all means in our efforts.
As for what comes next, the news post on the THQ Nordic website strongly hints at an ELEX 2 being in the works. Regarding any remakes of past Gothic and/or Risen games, the publisher has "nothing to say at this stage." However, going off of their past acquisition history, it wouldn't be too surprising to hear news of remasters in the future.