Company type | Public |
---|---|
Euronext Paris: NACON | |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 17 February 1981 |
Headquarters | , France |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Alain Falc (CEO, Chairman) |
Owners |
|
Number of employees | 430 (2020) |
Divisions |
|
Subsidiaries |
|
Website | nacongaming.com corporate.nacongaming.com |
Nacon (formerly Bigben Interactive) is a French video game company based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for various platforms. [1] [2] In 2020, Bigben Group was consolidated to form Nacon. [3]
In 2001, the company reached an agreement with Sega to distribute the remaining stock of Sega's Dreamcast consoles, accessories and software across Europe. [4] In December 2016, three years after Atari's initial bankruptcy sale, Atari sold the Test Drive franchise to Bigben Interactive. [5] The V-Rally series was also sold to Bigben Interactive around this time without a formal announcement. [6] Through 2020, Bigben Interactive was subsidiary of the Bigben Group, which also oversaw Nacon, its video game accessory company. On 11 February 2020, the parent company announced they were merging Bigben Interactive and Nacon into a single entity to go as Nacon. [7] In January 2021, Nacon announced that it had acquired Australian video game developer Big Ant Studios. [8] On 1 March 2021, video game developer Frogwares alleged Nacon illegally hacked and published a pirated version of their game, The Sinking City , on Steam in February 2021 during an ongoing distribution dispute between the two companies. [9] [10] In August 2021, Nacon acquired Crea-ture Studios. [11] In October 2021, Nacon acquired Ishtar Games. [12] In February 2022, Nacon acquired Midgar Studio. [13] Nacon announced its intent to acquire Daedalic Entertainment for an estimated $60 million in February 2022, with the deal concluding in April 2022. [14] [15] In May 2022 Nacon announced the formation of Nacon Studio Milan, encompassing its October 2020 acquisition RaceWard Studio, [16] as well as other yet to be named studios. [17] in 2020, Nacon acquired rig gaming, a headset company. [18]
Studio | Subsidiary | Location | Founded/acquisition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Big Ant Studios | Melbourne | January 2021 | [19] | |
Crea-ture Studios | Montréal | August 2021 | [11] | |
Cyanide | Amusement Cyanide | May 2018 | [20] | |
Rogue Factor | ||||
Big Bad Wolf | Bordeaux | |||
Daedalic Entertainment | Hamburg | April 2022 | [15] | |
Eko Software | Paris | September 2018 | [21] | |
Kylotonn | Kylotonn Lyon | Lyon | October 2018 | [22] |
Ishtar Games | Lille Bordeaux | October 2021 | [12] | |
Midgar Studio | Nîmes | February 2022 | [13] | |
Neopica | Ghent | October 2020 | [23] | |
Nacon Studio Milan | Milan | May 2022 | [17] | |
Spiders | Paris | July 2019 | [24] |
The rights for the following titles are disputed, with Frogwares claiming Nacon only owns the distribution rights: [76]
Title | Release | Developer(s) | Platform(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter | 10 June 2016 | Frogwares | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
The Sinking City | 27 June 2019 | Frogwares | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related materials.
Frogwares is a Ukrainian video game development studio headquartered in Kyiv with subsidiary offices in Dublin, Ireland. The studio and its subsidiaries develop adventure games for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch as well as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and mobile.
Acquire Corp. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher, mainly known for their Tenchu and Way of the Samurai series. Acquire was founded on December 6, 1994, and in 1998 developed Tenchu: Stealth Assassins for the PlayStation, which turned into a franchise. The developer pushed for a more sandbox approach to the level design, which found its way in other Acquire titles like Way of the Samurai and Shinobido: Way of the Ninja. In 2011, the company was acquired by GungHo Online Entertainment. Acquire co-developed Octopath Traveler with Square Enix, releasing in 2018. Acquire was chosen as development partner for the game based on their affinity with pixel-art and prior work on the What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord? series. Acquire developed Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story, which released in 2020, following the cancellation of a fifth Way of the Samurai entry. In 2024, the company was acquired by Kadokawa Corporation.
Cyanide SA is a French video game developer based in the Nanterre suburb of Paris. The company was founded in 2000 by Patrick Pligersdorffer, formerly of Ubi Soft. Since 2007, Cyanide operates a second studio, Amusement Cyanide, in Montreal, Canada, and employs a total of 110 staff members as of 2018. Cyanide was acquired by French publisher Bigben Interactive in May 2018.
The Sinking City is an action-adventure game developed by Frogwares and inspired by the works of horror fiction author H. P. Lovecraft. Set in the fictional city of Oakmont, Massachusetts during the 1920s, the story follows private investigator and war veteran Charles W. Reed as he searches for clues to the cause of the terrifying visions plaguing him, and becomes embroiled in the mystery of Oakmont's unrelenting flooding.
In the video game industry, 2020 saw the launch of the next generation of video game consoles, with both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment having released the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, respectively, in November 2020. The industry was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which had begun in March and was characterized by COVID-19 lockdowns and remote work. While this caused numerous delays in software and hardware releases and the cancellation of live conferences and events in favor of virtual shows, it also created a boon for the industry as people turned to gaming as a means to pass the time. The industry also reacted to various political/cultural events.
In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.
Eko Software is a French video game developer located in the Choisy-le-roi suburb of Paris. The company was established in 1999 by Jules-Benjamin Lalisse.
In the video game industry, 2022 saw the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, slowing hardware sales for most of the year as well as development delays for major titles. The industry continued its trend of acquisitions and mergers, highlighted by Microsoft announcing its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion. The industry as a whole continued to deal with issues such as workplace harassment and discrimination, alongside crunch periods, leading to at least the quality assurance staff at three separate studios to vote to unionize.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is an upcoming racing video game developed by KT Racing and published by Nacon. It will be the twenty-first game in the Test Drive series, the first title in the series since 2012's Ferrari Racing Legends, and the third game in the franchise's Unlimited reboot, following 2011's Test Drive Unlimited 2. The game was teased on 3 July 2020 on Twitter and was officially revealed during the Nacon Connect event on 7 July. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is set to be released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
In the video game industry, 2023 saw significant changes within larger publishers and developers. Microsoft, after having satisfied worldwide regulatory bodies, completed its US$69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, making them the third largest game publisher in the world. Embracer Group, which had been in an acquisition spree over the previous few years, had an estimated $2 billion deal fall through, causing many of the studios under Embracer to either lay off staff or close entirely. Similar layoffs were seen at Unity, Amazon, ByteDance, Epic Games, Bungie, and Ubisoft, leading to over 9,000 jobs lost in the industry in 2023 and part of a larger trend of layoffs at technology companies in 2023.
In the video game industry, 2024 is seeing job losses extending from 2023, including large cuts from Microsoft Gaming, Electronic Arts, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, and with nearly 8,000 jobs lost during the months of January and February.
"Enquête - Nacon-Frogwares : décryptage d'un conflit larvé devenu guerre ouverte" [Investigation - Nacon-Frogwares: deciphering a latent conflict that became an open war]. gamekult.com (in French). 20 April 2021.