Somerville developers Jumpship are being bought by Thunderful
They're the tenth studio Thunderful's acquired
Jumpship are only just releasing their first game today, alien invasion dad-venture Somerville, but they’ve been snapped up by publishers Thunderful. The small studio based in Guildford will still be free to pursue its own creative projects, continuing to focus on story-driven games such as Somerville. Co-founder of Jumpship and former CEO of Playdead Dino Patti will become Thunderful’s Strategic Advisor, but remains with the studio.
“The level of intrigue that JUMPSHIP has managed to generate for its debut title shows you that this is a team with a deep artistic vision,” said Thunderful’s Chief Gaming Officer, Agostino Simonetta. You can read more about the Jumpship deal here.
Patti said that Jumpship and Thunderful had been discussing the acquisition for around a year. The deal, expected to close today, makes Jumpship the tenth studio acquired by Thunderful. Other studios bought by the company include Bridge Constructor publishers Headup, Madrid-based developers Stage Clear Studios, publishers Rising Star Games, and Swedish studio Station Interactive.
Malindy Hetfeld loved the moments of good ol’ human friendliness from Jumpship’s game in our Somerville review, but felt it had a weak third act. “With at most 6 hours of playtime, Somerville could perhaps have been just a tiny bit longer to set up its ending more elegantly,” she said.
Somerville is out today, November 15th, on Steam and the Epic Games Store for £23/$25/€25. It’s also hopping onto PC Game Pass, if you’re a subscriber.