Board game crowdfunding major Awaken Realms has made its first acquisition of another publisher by acquiring Darwin’s Journey maker Thundergryph Games.

Thundergryph will operate under its own brand following the deal, with company founder Gonzalo Aguirre Bisi continuing to lead its creative direction in his new role of game director at Awaken Realms.

The publishers said the tie-up will allow Thundergryph to focus exclusively on game design and development, with Awaken Realms taking on responsibility for operational necessities such as logistics, manufacturing, fulfillment and worldwide distribution.

The move broadens Awaken Realms’ publishing portfolio beyond the large-scale, narrative-driven and miniature-heavy titles for which it is best known, such as the hugely lucrative Nemesis series, Tainted Grail and ISS Vanguard.

Acquiring Thundergryph adds a catalogue which includes eurogames such as the highly regarded Darwin’s Journey, Tang Garden and Etherstone – and indicates an appetite from Awaken Realms to expand out into different styles of game.

Awaken Realms founder and CEO Marcin Świerkot said, “We were really impressed by the Thundergryph portfolio and how they managed to create very interesting and beautiful games over and over again.

“Because they are so different from what we usually do at AR (with all our dark and gritty taste), we believe it is a perfect fit to make our portfolio broader.”

Awaken Realms would not confirm to BoardGameWire if the acquisition represented the first of multiple M&A deals in the pipeline, but did say it sees value in “building a broader publishing ecosystem, but only if it respects each brand’s identity”.

A spokesperson for Awaken Realms told BoardGameWire, “Right now, our focus is fully on making this partnership successful and supporting the Thundergryph Team in the best possible way.

“More broadly, we are always open to opportunities that make strategic and creative sense, especially where we can help talented teams focus more on making great games while Awaken Realms supports them with production, logistics, fulfillment, and global infrastructure.

“Thundergryph is a particularly strong fit because its portfolio is different from what Awaken Realms is best known for. Their light and medium-weight games, strong visual identity, and elegant production values complement our existing line-up very well.”

He added, “In general, Awaken Realms is interested in areas that can strengthen our ability to create, produce, and deliver great games to players around the world. That can include publishing, operational infrastructure or other strategic areas.”

Discussions for the Thundergryph acquisition began more than a year ago, company founder Bisi told BoardGameWire, adding that such an arrangement was something he had been thinking about for some time.

He said, “Years ago, I had much more time to focus on game development, art direction, and product creation. As Thundergryph grew from a small publisher into a medium-sized company, the amount of organization and administration required increased significantly.

“I realized that I wanted to return to the aspects of the job I enjoy most: creating games and helping bring them to life.”

Awaken Realms says its infrastructure has delivered more than 700,000 games worldwide to date, and believes that support will allow Thundergryph to scale without adding further management burden to its creative team.

The company also retains close ties with crowdfunding platform Gamefound, which began life as part of Awaken Realms before becoming a separate entity with Ravensburger as its majority shareholder. Marcin Świerkot, the co-founder of both Awaken Realms and Gamefound, remains CEO of both businesses.

Bisi added that Thundergryph’s future if it hadn’t agreed the takeover deal would have been one “with fewer games and less time dedicated to nurturing and developing them to the standard we aspire to achieve”.

He said, “The people designing the games, developing the gameplay, creating the visual identity, and interacting with the community are still here. Our creative vision, our passion, and our commitment to making unique games remain unchanged.

“This agreement gives us the opportunity to dream bigger while staying true to what made Thundergryph special in the first place.

“It allows us to combine Thundergryph’s creative strengths with the resources and infrastructure needed to bring even more ambitious projects to life.”

Those projects will begin with Galileo’s Truth, a game by designers Virginio Gigli and Flaminia Brasini, which is set to launch on Gamefound on July 7.

Bisi spoke to BoardGameWire three years ago about the drastic decisions the company implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to deliver the Darwin’s Journey crowdfunding campaign, saying that delaying the game and quickly cutting back on reprints and new production had saved the company.

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