--- title: Why changing studios' identity after acquisition spells doom description: Studios that get forced to abandon their core identity after acquisition tend to shut down years later, says Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick. He points to... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/why-changing-studios-identity-after-acquisition-spells-doom-pgiatlscu twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Why changing studios' identity after acquisition spells doom | daily.dev og:description: Studios that get forced to abandon their core identity after acquisition tend to shut down years later, says Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick. He points to... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/why-changing-studios-identity-after-acquisition-spells-doom-pgiatlscu og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/pGiATlScu.png og:image:alt: Why changing studios' identity after acquisition spells doom og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Why changing studios' identity after acquisition spells doom **[Game Developer](https://daily.dev/sources/gamedeveloper)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Studios that get forced to abandon their core identity after acquisition tend to shut down years later, says Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick. He points to Electronic Arts as his best example, citing BioWare along with Bullfrog Productions, Westwood Studios and Mythic Entertainment. Atari, by contrast, has let Nightdive keep remastering classic games after acquiring it for up to $19.5 million, alongside Digital Eclipse, which it also acquired. Kick described an 'ecosystem' where Nightdive's remasters and new boomer-shooter titles put classic and modern games in the same market segment. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did Electronic Arts shut down BioWare after acquiring it in 2007? BioWare, maker of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, was shut down by Electronic Arts after a 19-year run. Former employees have claimed EA's push for live service revenue clashed with BioWare's strength in single-player role-playing games, a pattern Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick says also doomed EA studios like Bullfrog Productions, Westwood Studios and Mythic Entertainment. _Studio leads weighing acquisition offers follow cases like this on daily.dev before signing away creative control._ ### How much did Atari pay to acquire Nightdive Studios? Atari acquired Nightdive Studios for up to $19.5 million. The deal is part of a broader acquisition spree that also includes Crossy Road developer Hipster Whale, the MobyGames database for $1.5 million, and Digital Eclipse for up to $20 million, with individual deals ranging from $1 million to $40 million. _Developers tracking game industry consolidation can follow these acquisition terms on daily.dev._ ### Why has Atari's acquisition strategy worked better than other publishers' for the studios it buys? Atari has avoided forcing acquired studios like Nightdive, Digital Eclipse and Implicit Conversions to change their established business models, instead removing logistical burdens like payroll and tax management while letting teams keep doing what made them successful. Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick says this contrasts with publishers that force studios into new creative directions and later shut them down. _Studio operators evaluating acquisition offers compare approaches like this on daily.dev before negotiating terms._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Atari acquires emulation studio Implicit Conversions](https://daily.dev/posts/atari-acquires-emulation-studio-implicit-conversions-ajk6f3vga) · GamesIndustry.biz · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Paramount acknowledged the existence of Warner Bros. Games](https://daily.dev/posts/paramount-acknowledged-the-existence-of-warner-bros-games-xkmddmobz) · Game Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - ["It's less risky to be the masters of our own fate" – The AAA developers going indie](https://daily.dev/posts/it-s-less-risky-to-be-the-masters-of-our-own-fate-the-aaa-developers-going-indie-swkf7hupg) · GamesIndustry.biz · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#game-development](https://daily.dev/tags/game-development), [#business](https://daily.dev/tags/business) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/why-changing-studios-identity-after-acquisition-spells-doom-pgiatlscu) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Why changing studios' identity after acquisition spells doom","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-changing-studios-identity-after-acquisition-spells-doom-pgiatlscu","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-changing-studios-identity-after-acquisition-spells-doom-pgiatlscu"},"datePublished":"2026-10-27T14:52:17.275Z","dateModified":"2026-10-27T14:55:15.036Z","description":"Studios that get forced to abandon their core identity after acquisition tend to shut down years later, says Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick. 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Former employees have claimed EA's push for live service revenue clashed with BioWare's strength in single-player role-playing games, a pattern Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick says also doomed EA studios like Bullfrog Productions, Westwood Studios and Mythic Entertainment. Studio leads weighing acquisition offers follow cases like this on daily.dev before signing away creative control."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How much did Atari pay to acquire Nightdive Studios?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Atari acquired Nightdive Studios for up to $19.5 million. The deal is part of a broader acquisition spree that also includes Crossy Road developer Hipster Whale, the MobyGames database for $1.5 million, and Digital Eclipse for up to $20 million, with individual deals ranging from $1 million to $40 million. Developers tracking game industry consolidation can follow these acquisition terms on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why has Atari's acquisition strategy worked better than other publishers' for the studios it buys?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Atari has avoided forcing acquired studios like Nightdive, Digital Eclipse and Implicit Conversions to change their established business models, instead removing logistical burdens like payroll and tax management while letting teams keep doing what made them successful. Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick says this contrasts with publishers that force studios into new creative directions and later shut them down. Studio operators evaluating acquisition offers compare approaches like this on daily.dev before negotiating terms."}}]} ```