Trophy Games buys Playrion for €2.25M as Paradox exits mobile
Summary
Trophy Games acquires Playrion from Paradox for €2.25M upfront plus a three-year revenue-based earn-out, its largest deal to date.
30 Playrion employees transfer to Trophy Games.
Paradox divests the Paris studio to refocus on PC and console strategy games, five years after buying it in 2020.
Trophy raised its 2026 revenue outlook to €22.8M-€24.1M, from €20.1M-€22.4M, attributing the lift to the deal.
"If we succeed in repeating the model, Playrion can become an entirely new growth pillar for Trophy Games."
01
Deal terms tie most value to future mobile revenue
Trophy pays €2.25M upfront plus a three-year earn-out tied to Playrion's net revenue.
The earn-out ties ultimate deal value to Playrion's future mobile performance.
Paradox acquired the 2010-founded Paris studio in 2020 and exits five years later.
Trophy raised its 2026 revenue outlook to €22.8M-€24.1M, from €20.1M-€22.4M.
02
Trophy converts a tracked competitor into franchise scale
Gleie says Trophy tracked Playrion as a direct competitor for four years before the deal.
Trophy plans to expand Airport Simulator: First Class into a full simulation series.
The move mirrors its 2021 Airline Manager 4 acquisition, which Gleie credits with starting Trophy's growth.
"By now, we have a recipe for how we can take a game that has already proven there is a market and build an entire series around it."
03
Paradox narrows its catalog to PC and console strategy games
Paradox frames the sale as portfolio alignment.
"This transaction is a step in aligning our operations around developing and publishing strategy and management games primarily for PC and console."
Playrion's mobile-only focus sits outside Paradox's stated PC and console core.
What this means
For Publishers & Developers: A proven mobile simulator with market fit is now a franchise template, replicable across genres.
For Investors & VC: Trophy's quadrupled revenue and six titles in development signal capacity for larger consolidation plays.
For Service Vendors: Paradox's mobile exit narrows its vendor needs toward PC and console strategy pipelines.
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