Paradox acquires Age of Wonders developer

Paradox Interactive has acquired Dutch company Triumph Studios in a multi-million euro deal. Founded in 1997, Triumph is best known for its Overlord and Age of Wonders series—and the buyout sees Paradox assume publishing rights for both as well as "all ongoing projects". In doing so, all staff and management will remain at the former.

"Triumph Studios is a developer of our own heart. They are world-leading within their niche and have built a large and dedicated community over the years, counting quite a few Paradox employees among their hardcore fans," says Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester in a statement. "We have great faith in the Triumph team and leadership, and our main focus now is to ensure that they can continue to create their magic under new ownership."

Triumph co-founder and CEO Lennart Sas adds: "We have been approached by others before with an interest to acquire us, but this is not merely a business transaction for us. This is a liaison with a partner that can help us grow sustainably by ensuring the stability and continuity needed for us to do more of what we do best—develop some of the best turn-based strategy games on the market today.

"Paradox is a good match for us both culturally and games-wise. They get it. It’s as simple as that, and we are extremely excited about the acquisition."

Considering its propensity to the strategy genre, the Age of Wonders series seems like a great fit for Paradox and I'm now interested to see what it comes up with into the future. Richard Cobbett described it's third entry as "a war worth sinking your teeth into, on both its magical fronts" in his 2014 review—the sum of which can be viewed here.

If you're interested in learning more about Paradox's takeover, both Wester and Sas are hosting a livestream today at 3pm BST/7am PST on the Paradox Twitch channel.