Amber, a online game growth company, has acquired the Colombian sport studio Madbricks.
This acquisition marks the vanguard of Amber’s new initiative to foster a collaborative method to co-development, because it seeks to broaden its international workforce by integrating exterior studios. Amber focuses on exterior growth, or making video games for different sport 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,” mentioned 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.”
Primarily based in Bogotá, Colombia, Madbricks has specialised in co-development and full growth 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,” mentioned 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 sport studios. Benavides has been making an attempt to develop the academic base of sport expertise in Colombia in order that the business can develop. That’s an analogous technique to what Amber has carried out in different nations.
Pohontu mentioned that Amber has helped prepare hundreds of sport 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 mentioned. “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 mentioned that Madbricks and Colombia remind him of Romania, the place Amber began.
Madbricks management workforce
The acquisition builds on the 2 events’ profitable collaboration, as Amber and Madbricks have labored collectively prior to now on varied tasks with nice outcomes.
“For Madbricks, becoming part of Amber means bigger projects and the opportunity to learn from a developed organization like Amber,” mentioned Benavides, in a press release. “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 sport growth company structured as a community of studios with totally different specializations, providing a variety of online game growth options, together with full product supply, co-development, platform conversion, reside operations, and help companies. Amber at present employs greater than 850 employees and, by way 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, Massive Fish Video games, Disney, N3twork, Rovio, Warner Media, and That Sport Firm.
Amber has developed video games akin to Tetris Beat, Tremendous Spy Ryan, Method E: Excessive Voltage, PositronX, and Hyperlink Twin, and has contributed to creating profitable titles akin to Sky: Kids of Gentle, Nascar Warmth 5, Secret Neighbor, Wild Issues and others.
Amber is headquartered in Bucharest and has places of work in Botoșani, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Bogotá, Montreal, Manila, and Kyiv.
With a monitor report of making video games for Voodoo, ByteDance, and Most Video games, Madbricks has earned a repute for delivering top-tier gaming experiences that resonate with audiences worldwide.
Their titles have bought lots of of hundreds of models throughout varied platforms, showcasing their versatility and proficiency in sport growth. From console to PC and cell, Madbricks has shipped video games on each main platform, solidifying its place as a number one power within the international gaming panorama.
Pohontu mentioned that prices of operating a sport studio in Colombia are about 20% cheaper than Amber’s operations in Japanese Europe, which already is way cheaper than locations just like the U.S. and Canada.
He mentioned 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 academic establishments within the native sport group too.
“We believe that the same pattern will occur in Colombia,” Pohontu mentioned.
Pohontu mentioned that Colombia has political stability and that issues. That’s one of many first issues that Amber seems for when it searches for companions. It additionally seems for homegrown expertise and established studios, versus freelancers or contractors. Amber at present has 850 staff, however it additionally works with numerous contractors — about 3,400 people who it will possibly faucet when it wants extra help. 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 additionally the macroeconomic image, and Colombia is comparatively secure as a rustic now. He acknowledged it had each social and political upheaval prior to now, 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 sport genres. They’ve been a very good cell sport developer, and Amber will possible develop its PC and console sport growth 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 mentioned. “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 a better 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 practically 100 folks working for that studio in Manila at the moment. That one is targeted 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 12 months. The corporate severely curtailed its presence in cell video games, and so Amber reoriented itself to doing core sport growth.
“We’ve adapted and now the situation is stable, and we feel confident enough to emerge as an acquirer of studios,” Pohontu mentioned. “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.”
Total, Pohontu believes that progress is beginning to come again to video games.
“We’re definitely seeing increased levels of investment,” Pohontu mentioned. “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 growth, Pohontu believes it’s a good time to be an acquirer. Many proficient studios want to exit powerful conditions. Amber, luckily, raised $20 million in capital in 2022, again when it was simpler to take action.
Pohontu acknowledges it’s a really powerful time within the business with so many layoffs. These layoffs lead to large ethical hits for inner groups. There’s additionally the drive towards unionization.
Pohontu mentioned the corporate is worthwhile and it isn’t in search of funding now. He famous that the business has been doing so poorly that firm valuations are depressed.
