Aonic Secures €152 Million in Funding to Enhance Studios and Pursue Strategic Acquisitions
Image courtesy of OtherSide Leisure/Aonic.
Swedish sports enterprise Aonic has secured an investment amounting to €152 million (approximately $157 million) from Metric Capital Partners as well as its major stakeholder, Active Ownership.
The vast bulk of the investment originates from Metric, and the “definitive agreement” will empower the publisher to “facilitate further M&A and support ongoing advancements across the organization.”
Despite Aonic’s financial backing, its subsidiaries have not been exempt from workforce reductions. In September, nDreams dismissed 17.5 percent of its staff, occurring a year after Aonic had acquired the VR developer for $110 million.
These job cuts, coupled with the broader “volatility” affecting the gaming industry, have influenced “various sectors” within Aonic’s operations. Nevertheless, their fundraising announcement reported a 73 percent increase in revenue by the start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Since its inception in 2021, Aonic has acquired or invested in several studios, including OtherSide Leisure, nDreams, and Exmox. OtherSide, established by Paul Neurath and led by Deus Ex creative director Warren Spector, revealed its first project Thick as Thieves at last week’s Game Awards.
Earlier this year, the company established a publishing division, Megabit, which will distribute Thick as Thieves as well as future first-party and third-party games.
According to Aonic, more information regarding its “ongoing developments” is expected in 2025.
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Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has contributed to numerous platforms including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his work can also be found at io9 on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s consumed, as the answer will be more than he’s willing to disclose.