Today, The Gearbox Entertainment Company announced it entered into an agreement to fully acquire Lost Boys Interactive (“Lost Boys”), an independent video game studio working on both co-development for top-tier games and original intellectual property (IP) for PC and consoles. The acquisition will add more than 220 team members to Gearbox Entertainment, bringing Gearbox’s global headcount to approximately 1,300.
“Lost Boys is an incredible studio with industry-leading talent that continue to push the bar higher for what gamers expect from their favorite franchises,” said Randy Pitchford, founder of The Gearbox Entertainment Company. “I am excited for Chase, Rod, Shaun, Mark and my old friend Tim, along with all of the incredible talent at Lost Boys, to have an immediate and positive impact on the games secretly in development at Gearbox Software. I am also eager to empower this amazing team to provide their world-class development services to partners and allies throughout the larger game industry.”
Founded in 2017 as a remote-first studio with offices in Madison, Wisconsin and Austin, Texas, Lost Boys is led by industry veterans Shaun Nivens, Mark Stefanowicz, Rod Runnheim, Chase Jones, and Tim Gerritsen. Since its founding, the studio has grown to more than 220 employees and has worked on marquee global franchises such as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Call of Duty, and PlayerUnknown’s Battle Grounds.
Lost Boys currently is working through a period of rapid expansion, targeting 350 team members by 2024. Lost Boys will operate as a subsidiary to Gearbox, within the growing Embracer family, and will continue to operate independently under Gearbox Entertainment while working in tandem with Gearbox on full development projects. Shaun Nivens, the CEO of Lost Boys, will report to Steve Jones, president of Gearbox Software.
“We founded Lost Boys with a dream to work on products that would be globally recognized and loved,” said Shaun Nivens, CEO and co-founder of Lost Boys Interactive. “We’re incredibly excited to join Gearbox and continue doing what we do best – making amazing games that entertain and inspire others.”
Juno Capital Partners acted as M&A and strategic advisor to Gearbox. Fenwick & West acted as legal counsel. EY acted as a financial and tax advisor.
