Astroneer developer System Era acquired by Devolver Digital

Devolver Digital has announced it has acquired Astroneer developer, System Era, for up to $40million, and has announced it via a suitably Devolver style press release.

In the press release, Devolver says that eight years ago the company “almost published Astroneer“, adding that “Sadly, the award-winning Seattle-based developer System Era went on to find extraordinary fame and success without them, and the rest is history”. That is, until now, as in the publisher’s words, “almost a decade of mutual admiration and friendship, Devolver Digital and System Era declare their undying love for one another in the only way they know how: by turning down the lights, turning up the heat, and forming a strategic business relationship”.

Back when Devolver and System Era were just a glint in the video game industry’s eye, both teams vowed to build companies that reflected their spirit of independence. They placed passion and creativity proudly at the forefront of their businesses, and quickly found success. Now, they have new ambitions that they felt could be explored better, together.

Brendan Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of System Era, said: “We’ve always seen Devolver’s banner as a mark of quality. Their developer-first ethos has paved the way for some of the boldest and most creative ideas to thrive, and we’re thrilled to be joining a merry band of like-minded people where our games will get the support they need within a culture they love”.

Devolver has said that System Era will continue doing “what they do best: making cool video games”, and interestingly, the press release says that the team is working on “something new and exciting”, while the Astroneer 2024 roadmap is also on the way.

System Era says that “This partnership, working in-house with Devolver, lets us focus on what we love, the way we love to do it. We don’t shed independence lightly. But with Devolver, we don’t think System Era is losing independence, we think it’s finding a home among a like-minded confederation of talented people, under a banner that is synonymous with the indie ethos, and we can’t wait to continue our journey, together”.

So really, good news all round, it seems.

Astroneer is out now for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. A Devolver employee was overheard saying “I still can’t believe we didn’t sign Astroneer”.