Amber, a online game improvement company, has acquired the Colombian recreation studio Madbricks.
This acquisition marks the vanguard of Amber’s new initiative to foster a collaborative strategy to co-development, because it seeks to increase its international workforce by integrating exterior studios. Amber focuses on exterior improvement, or making video games for different recreation firms.
“We have been looking at Colombia as a market for talent for many years. We have worked with Madbricks on a couple of projects already so we have a long standing relationship with that studio. hey are a trusted partner. And even more than that, they are very culturally compatible with us,” stated Mihai Pohonțu, CEO of Amber, in an interview with GamesBeat. “One one of the things that is core to Amber’s values is our investment in community. And Madbricks has the same vision.”
Based mostly in Bogotá, Colombia, Madbricks has specialised in co-development and full improvement throughout a number of genres and platforms over the previous ten years.
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“We were impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the Madbricks team during our past collaboration, so this acquisition is a natural next step in our relationship. Emerging markets are part of our DNA, and Madbricks will solidify our presence in the South American games industry landscape,” stated Pohontu.
Throughout that point, it has grown to roughly 40 staffers, and has efficiently shipped video games on each main platform from cell to PC and console, solidifying its place as a number one studio within the rising gaming panorama of Colombia and South America.
Pohontu famous that Miguel Benavides, CEO at Madbricks, is head of the Colombian Videogames Affiliation, COVA, which has greater than 30 recreation studios. Benavides has been making an attempt to develop the tutorial base of recreation expertise in Colombia in order that the business can develop. That’s the same technique to what Amber has carried out in different international locations.
Pohontu stated that Amber has helped prepare 1000’s of recreation builders in Mexico and it might like to do the identical in Colombia.
“In that, we are very much aligned with Madbricks and their leadership. That’s something that will happen over the years. Latin America is one of the hottest emerging regions in game development today. So there is a lot of energy and a lot of investment going into Latin America,” Pohontu stated. “Obviously, they have the great advantage of being aligned with the U.S. and Canada, which are very strong game that markets, but also in sports, specifically, as it relates to Colombia.”
He added, “The thing that impresses impressed me always about the location is that they have such a wide array of indie studios and local game developers are eminently creative. So they definitely punch above their weight in terms of creativity.”
In that method, Pohontu stated that Madbricks and Colombia remind him of Romania, the place Amber began.
Madbricks management staff
The acquisition builds on the 2 events’ profitable collaboration, as Amber and Madbricks have labored collectively previously on varied initiatives with nice outcomes.
“For Madbricks, becoming part of Amber means bigger projects and the opportunity to learn from a developed organization like Amber,” stated Benavides, in an announcement. “We pride ourselves on our ability to generate a fast-paced high production value pipeline, and we believe that joining Amber, with its vast, global resources, will tighten our efficiency even further and allow us to fully realize our vision for the company and local industry.”
Based in 2013 in Bucharest, Amber is a recreation improvement company structured as a community of studios with totally different specializations, providing a variety of online game improvement options, together with full product supply, co-development, platform conversion, stay operations, and assist providers. Amber at the moment employs greater than 850 employees and, by means of its companions, maintains a worldwide expertise community of three,400 specialists.
Amber has labored or continues to work with the most well-liked gaming firms: Amazon, King, Large Fish Video games, Disney, N3twork, Rovio, Warner Media, and That Sport Firm.
Amber has developed video games corresponding to Tetris Beat, Tremendous Spy Ryan, Components E: Excessive Voltage, PositronX, and Hyperlink Twin, and has contributed to creating profitable titles corresponding to Sky: Kids of Mild, Nascar Warmth 5, Secret Neighbor, Wild Issues and others.
Amber is headquartered in Bucharest and has workplaces in Botoșani, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Bogotá, Montreal, Manila, and Kyiv.
With a monitor file of making video games for Voodoo, ByteDance, and Most Video games, Madbricks has earned a status for delivering top-tier gaming experiences that resonate with audiences worldwide.
Their titles have offered a whole bunch of 1000’s of items throughout varied platforms, showcasing their versatility and proficiency in recreation improvement. From console to PC and cell, Madbricks has shipped video games on each main platform, solidifying its place as a number one pressure within the international gaming panorama.
Pohontu stated that prices of operating a recreation studio in Colombia are about 20% inexpensive than Amber’s operations in Jap Europe, which already is way inexpensive than locations just like the U.S. and Canada.
He stated the corporate plans to develop the studio in Colombia, simply because it did after buying a small studio in Guadalajara, Mexico. That studio began with 25 folks and it’s now greater than 200, and there are established instructional establishments within the native recreation group too.
“We believe that the same pattern will occur in Colombia,” Pohontu stated.
Pohontu stated that Colombia has political stability and that issues. That’s one of many first issues that Amber appears to be like for when it searches for companions. It additionally appears to be like for homegrown expertise and established studios, versus freelancers or contractors. Amber at the moment has 850 staff, however it additionally works with quite a lot of contractors — about 3,400 those that it could actually faucet when it wants further assist. This construction permits Amber to scale up or down as wanted primarily based on demand.
The corporate does due diligence not solely on political stability but in addition the macroeconomic image, and Colombia is comparatively secure as a rustic now. He acknowledged it had each social and political upheaval previously, however he believes the brand new generations of Colombians are “keen to prove to the world that their country is worth taking seriously. I think it shows a lot of promise.”
Madbricks has experimented with quite a lot of totally different recreation genres. They’ve been a very good cell recreation developer, and Amber will probably develop its PC and console recreation improvement capabilities.
“It’s worth noting that these days, a majority of Amber’s work comes from PC and console for development, which is a marked change from the past,” Pohontu stated. “We used to be mobile first company, but especially after the pandemic, most of the external development work available in the industry has veered away from mobile and then back to the traditional platforms.”
Pohontu famous that Colombia has the next ratio of Unreal engine builders than there are in locations like Mexico. The final time that Amber added one other studio was within the Philippines in 2020. There are almost 100 folks working for that studio in Manila as we speak. That one is concentrated on high quality assurance and artwork.
Pohontu famous that Amber’s revenues have mirrored demand within the business, and so Amber’s revenues in 2023 have been decrease than within the prior yr. The corporate severely curtailed its presence in cell video games, and so Amber reoriented itself to doing core recreation improvement.
“We’ve adapted and now the situation is stable, and we feel confident enough to emerge as an acquirer of studios,” Pohontu stated. “And in a part of the reason that we are able to do this is because we have a unique skill set in taking emerging markets outfits and making them better. We have showcased this already in several locations, including in our original location in Romania. Amber is in a good place today.”
General, Pohontu believes that progress is beginning to come again to video games.
“We’re definitely seeing increased levels of investment,” Pohontu stated. “You can look at investment levels and you’re finding a resurgence. We’re not back to the golden era [during the pandemic when gamer demand surged and game companies hired a lot of people]. There wasn’t much investment in the last couple of years as companies retreated to their core slates. The hope is that in 2025, they will start looking at that seriously.”
As for exterior improvement, Pohontu believes it’s a good time to be an acquirer. Many gifted studios need to exit robust conditions. Amber, luckily, raised $20 million in capital in 2022, again when it was simpler to take action.
Pohontu acknowledges it’s a really robust time within the business with so many layoffs. These layoffs lead to large ethical hits for inner groups. There may be additionally the drive towards unionization.
Pohontu stated the corporate is worthwhile and it’s not on the lookout for funding now. He famous that the business has been doing so poorly that firm valuations are depressed.