Devolver Digital and Serious Sam developer Croteam have had a long and fruitful relationship, and today they announced they’re officially trying the knot. Devolver has acquired Croteam, although the latter will retain full creative control of their projects. Basically, this is just a solidifying of something that’s been going on for a while, as Devolver lays out in their announcement…
Nearly thirty years ago, a group of childhood friends got together to start Croteam from a small garage in Zagreb. The team dabbled in soccer / football games before putting together a dazzling tech demo that would become Serious Sam and change the path of the studio forever. But it was a struggle to sign the Serious Sam demo with a publisher and only one label – Gathering of Developers – showed interest and support. That support blossomed into friendship and respect which would eventually reconnect Croteam with some of the Gathering of Developers team when they later helped found Devolver Digital.
A decade ago Devolver Digital was just getting started and looking for its first project to partner on in the emerging digital distribution world. Similarly, Croteam was on the search for a partner it could trust to help them bring their beloved franchise back to prominence with the upcoming Serious Sam 3. And like that, the next big Serious Sam game brought old partners back together and forged a decade of friendship and dedication. Since then Croteam and Devolver Digital have partnered on dozens of games – from the frantic Serious Sam series to the award-winning The Talos Principle across PC, consoles, VR and mobile platforms. Croteam and Devolver Digital have been dating for so long that we decided to go ahead and just get married.
So, what’s next for Croteam? While it’s been hinted at before, they’ve confirmed that The Talos Principle 2 is in the works. Meanwhile, they’re also promising more Serious Sam games, and “original IP from Croteam and the Croteam Incubator studios.” So yeah, seems like Croteam is going to be producing a pretty steady stream of content for their new owners.
Devolver Digital and Croteam recently released Serious Sam 4 on PC and Stadia. You can check out Wccftech’s review of the game here.