Avalanche Studios Group signs publishing deal to distribute Supermassive Games titles, consolidating Nordisk's portfolio
Summary
Nordisk Games has signed a publishing agreement making subsidiary Avalanche Studios Group the global publisher, marketer and distributor for Supermassive Games.
The deal starts with Directive 8020, already released in 2025.
Both studios will share finance, people and IT support while staying creatively independent.
The arrangement follows Nordisk's 2021 purchase of a 30% stake in Supermassive and its 2018 acquisition of Avalanche.
01
Deal mechanics: shared infrastructure, separate creative control
Avalanche Studios Group becomes the global publisher, marketer and distributor for Supermassive Games.
The first title under the deal is Directive 8020, already released in 2025.
Finance, people and IT functions will be shared between the two studios.
Each studio keeps full creative independence over its portfolio and development plans.
02
Strategic logic: layoffs expose shared cost pressure
Supermassive cut up to 75 jobs in August 2025, the third round in three years.
Avalanche closed its Liverpool studio in November 2025, cutting 31 jobs.
Avalanche also reduced headcount at its Malmö and Stockholm studios.
"This is about setting our studios up for sustainable long-term success"
03
Precedent: Avalanche's live-service track record backs the bet
Hunter: Call of the Wild still draws 2 million monthly players nine years after launch.
Avalanche CEO Stefanía Halldórsdóttir frames that retention as proof of publishing and operational strength.
Supermassive brings an 18-year track record in horror titles but no comparable publishing scale.
Nordisk routes an established live-service operator's infrastructure into a sibling studio that lacks one.
04
Competitive implications: a blueprint for mid-sized holding companies
Supermassive was Nordisk's ninth portfolio studio and the first in the UK.
Nordisk bought a 30% stake in Supermassive in 2021.
Nordisk acquired Avalanche outright in 2018, after a 2017 investment of over $10 million.
Avalanche was Nordisk's largest acquisition at the time.
This routes an established studio's infrastructure to a sibling without a new acquisition.
What this means
For Publishers & Developers: Strike Nordisk-portfolio studios from external publishing and co-publishing pitch lists going forward.
For Investors & VC: Add access to sibling publishing infrastructure to diligence on holding-group minority stakes.
For Service Vendors: Pitch localization, QA and marketing services as one bundled contract to the merged publishing unit.
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