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Image & Form and Zoink Team Up to Become 'Thunderful' Companies
News reported by 
(Editor)
January 25, 2018, 13:24
 
Breaking news! Game developers Image & Form and Zoink have come together for a joint venture known as Thunderful, which will own both companies as a single entity.Sounds like we still may hear the names Image & Form as well as Zoink but you can read below for the full press release. What do you think this might bring to the respective developers' future games?

Image & Form and Zoink, two of the most successful developers in the Swedish gaming industry, join forces to form Thunderful. The new company becomes one of the most important players on the European gaming circuit.

The owners of internationally acclaimed game studios Image & Form and Zoink have joined forces and formed Thunderful, a limited liability company that will wholly own Image & Form and Zoink. In turn, Thunderful is owned by Bergsala Holding, Brjann Sigurgeirsson and Klaus Lyngeled.

In 2017 Image & Form has been very successful with their latest release, SteamWorld Dig 2. The SteamWorld series, established 2010, has forged the studio into a leading developer and publisher of many different game genres on all current-gen platforms. Zoink made headlines when EA, responsible for game franchises such as Battlefield and FIFA, clinched the contract to publish Zoink’s pioneering game Fe, slated for release early 2018. Among others, the studio has also launched a very interesting VR project with one of the industry leaders in the field.

Both Image & Form and Zoink are based in Gothenburg, Sweden. They’ve collaborated for a long time, and will continue to develop games with existing and new IPs under their respective labels.

“We already work together on a daily basis in PR, marketing, intelligence and publishing,” says Brjann Sigurgeirsson, CEO of Image & Form and CEO of Thunderful. “Image & Form and Zoink will continue to produce games like we always do, but we’re now formalizing our close relationship. Through Thunderful we can share resources more effectively, officially act together and launch bigger, more ambitious game projects. We’re becoming a real powerhouse.”

With the paperwork out of the way, the next step in 2018 is moving into bigger offices together.

“Brjann and I already exchange very much information, so this development is natural,” says Klaus Lyngeled, CEO of Zoink and Chief Creative Officer of Thunderful. “With a group of close to 50 people we’ll grow our clout both nationally and internationally.”

Behind the successes lies a long-term dedication to making high-quality games, and today the studios are being compared to the likes of Nintendo and Double Fine.

“The gaming industry is rife with opportunities and many try their hand at it,” says Sigurgeirsson. “We know that in order to stay at the absolute top level, we must continue to develop world-class games. Fortunately, we are consistently proving that this is where we belong.”

A common denominator is Bergsala Holding, who among other things is the sole distributor of Nintendo products in the Nordic region. Bergsala is a long-standing partner in both companies, and have been imperative for the growth this far. Owe Bergsten, the CEO of Bergsala Holding, looks forward to the Thunderful cooperation. “There’s strength and clarity in gathering these great game developers and all their projects under one roof,” says Owe Bergsten. “The future looks both bright and exciting.”

EY Corporate Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor in the establishment of Thunderful AB.


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01/25/18, 13:24
 
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I've heard of Image & Form before of course...but I honestly don't remember Zoink. Well, so long as this doesn't affect the quality of the games, then I suppose this is a good thing!

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 14:55
I wish them all the best! Bigger company means more overhead and sometimes headaches, but it also means potentially more creative ideas and more manpower to create great things! Woo!

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 16:17
Okay but, why didn't they just go with the far better company name of Image & Form & Zoink? More ampersands means more power.

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 16:59
Like Zoinks, Scoob!

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 17:13   Edited:  01/25/18, 17:13
Huh, with Bergsala? Owe Bergsten was, if I'm not mistaken, the guy responsible for bringing the NES to Scandinavia (which is how Bergsala became the Nintendo distributor here), and a big Nintendo fan, so here's hoping this means good news for us Switch fans in terms of support. Which it should. I'm always sceptical when these types of things happen, though
nate38 said:
Okay but, why didn't they just go with the far better company name of Image & Form & Zoink? More ampersands means more power.
Indeed. It's the dubious law firm effect.

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 17:39   Edited:  01/25/18, 17:45
@nate38

You should send them an email with your suggestion, and get them to hire you for their marketing department. Also then change it to Image & Form & Zoink & Nate.

Maybe toss an Associates in there, too, as per @r_hjort

@TriforceBun



EDIT: Yeah, so... you do an image search for Zoinks and you get some weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeird returns... Humanity is screwed up.

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 18:52   Edited:  01/25/18, 18:54
@J.K. Riki
Ruh-roh! I take it that image is pretty much how you looked when you searched for it.

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 19:13
@TriforceBun

No, it wasn't really scary stuff, it was just ODD. Like... this:


What even is this.

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 20:41
@J.K. Riki Jinkies!

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 22:23
This thread has delivered beyond my expectations...

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 22:26
I've never heard of Zoink but I looked up Fe and it looks pretty cool.

Too bad EA is publishing it!

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 23:45
Anand said:
This thread has delivered beyond my expectations...

Don't I know it.

Posted by 
 on: 01/25/18, 23:48
Sounds cool(sville).

Posted by 
 on: 01/26/18, 01:05
I got Steamworld Heist the other day and it's fucking awesome.

I consider myself a fan of I&F now.

Posted by 
 on: 01/26/18, 12:41
carlosrox said:
I got Steamworld Heist the other day and it's fucking awesome.

I consider myself a fan of I&F now.

Welcome to a wonderful and happy club!

Posted by 
 on: 01/26/18, 13:03
@carlosrox
Good job! The more I think about it, the more I think that's my favourite Steamworld game. Got so addicted to it.

Posted by 
 on: 01/26/18, 15:00
Heist is definitely my favorite, I enjoyed Dig but it didn't really blow me away.

I don't know anything about Fe but it is coming to Switch soon.

Posted by 
 on: 01/26/18, 15:30
I played only a bit of Dig 1, but I enjoyed it. I played a bit more of Dig 2 and was really impressed, and the same goes for Heist. But Heist is reeeeeeeally cool. I had a friend over last weekend and he tried it and came away very impressed as well.

Heist seems to be my fave as well, but Dig 2 is a close second.

Posted by 
 on: 01/26/18, 18:44   Edited:  01/26/18, 18:46
Heist and Dig(s) are just so different, it's impossible for me to pick a favorite. They're all 10/10 games in their respective genres, IMO.

Posted by 
 on: 01/27/18, 15:17
I liked Heist at first, but I felt that it got kinda repetitive. I think Dig 1 might still be my favorite I&F game!

Posted by 
 on: 01/27/18, 18:50
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