Rubik's Cube owner Spin Master acquires Swedish developer Nørdlight

Nørdlight, developer of the tower defense game Jotunheim: 1965, has been acquired by toy maker Spin Master, as reported by Bloomberg. 

Toy companies have been a part of the video game landscape for years, with the most famous being Lego. Spin Master's arrival into games is more recent, and its few titles such as Noid and Toca Boca have been aimed at young children. 

Spin Master previously bought a minority stake in the Nordlight back in 2021, with the goal of expanding its brand into digital games for mobile and tablet. 

The company creates toys for several brands, including League of Legends, Nickelodeon's Paw Patrol. It also is the current manufacturer of the classic puzzle toy Rubik's Cube.  

Founded in 2019 by Candy Crush developers Simen Sandvaer and Olle Bäck, Nørdlight is currently developing a digital Rubik's Cube game. The Rubik's brand was bought by Spin in late 2020, and is said to have received a surge in sales during the early days of the pandemic.

Film and television producers are also working on developing a film and game show based on the toy product. 

Spin CEO Max Rangel has expressed a desire for digital games to account for 20 percent of its total sales during the second quarter of 2022, according to Bloomberg. During the first half of the year, Spin has seen $40.3 million in revenue.

"Leveraging our expanding capabilities and roster of valuable intellectual property, we are well positioned to build engaging, evergreen digital games properties as gaming continues to permeate entertainment time for children," wrote Rangel in a press statement.

In the same press statement, Nørdlight CEO Bäck said that Spin Master would help the company maintain the "indie feeling" that has become crucial to the studio. "Spin Master who shares so many of our values and really sees the possibility of building a modern studio with the employees' creativity in focus," he said.