Gearbox completes speedy acquisition of Lost Boys Interactive

Lost Boys Interactive has officially been acquired by the Embracer Group-owned Gearbox Entertainment, through its absorption into the wider "Gearbox family" won't prevent it from offering its services to external developers in the foreseeable future.

The deal, announced earlier this year, builds on an existing relationship between the two development studios. Lost Boys Interactive recently collaborated with Gearbox on the development of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and has provided its game development expertise to support other notable game franchises like Call of Duty and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in the past.

"[Lost Boys has] decades of experience in co-developing titles with leading industry players while also developing their own IP," commented Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford in a statement. "I know that with their experience, ability to scale, and proven leadership team, they will continue delivering incredible work for partners throughout the industry and accelerating the Gearbox creative engine.”

As with when Gearbox first announced its intent to acquire Lost Boys in April, the price at which it acquired the studio has not been disclosed.

Founded in 2017, Lost Boys employs over 220 staff both remotely and via offices in Madison, Wisconsin, and Austin, Texas. Following the acquisition, the studio will continue its plans to scale up to a team of 350 employees by 2024. In a statement of his own, Lost Boys CEO Shaun Nivens adds that joining Gearbox offers the studio more resources to utilize in future partnerships and projects, both on their own, with Gearbox, and with external teams.

"Everyone at Lost Boys is excited about the opportunities this acquisition gives us," says Nivens. "Being a part of Gearbox increases our ability to continue working on top-quality games for our clients and opens a whole new range of interesting options for developing some incredible ideas we have of our own."