If television has taught me anything, it is that every human yearns to be on a karaoke reality show. American Idol, The Masked Singer, and The Voice are all massively popular. So surely a market exists for karaoke video games. That way we can all prepare in the privacy of our own homes should Ryan Seacrest jump out — microphone at the ready — from behind a bush. Well, Embracer subsidiary Koch Media isn’t about to miss out on that action, which is why it’s acquiring Let’s Sing developer Voxler.
This is the second major acquisition of the day for Embracer or one of its subsidiaries. This morning, Embracer agreed to purchase World War Z developer Saber Interactive for $ 525 million in cash and options. Koch and Voxler did not disclose the details of their arrangement. The companies did reveal, however, that Koch is taking ownership of the studio and its intellectual property.
“We are delighted to welcome the team from Voxler to the family,” Koch Media chief executive Dr. Klemens Kundratitz said. “After a long relationship in publishing across selected Koch territories, the acquisition is a natural step to further extend and expand our product portfolio in specialized segments of the gaming and entertainment market.”
Voxler most recently launched Let’s Sing Country for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch in October. And it did so under publisher Deep Silver. While Embracer owns Koch, and Koch owns Voxler, Koch also owns Deep Silver … it’s confusing.
What this means for Voxler and Let’s Sing
What’s not confusing is that Voxler is excited to get to work with Koch Media.
“Joining the Koch Media family is a very important step for our studio,” Voxler studio head Nicolas Delorme said. “Having been managed as an independent studio, built on the enthusiasm of its team members and specialized in music games, we are pleased to bring our experience and knowledge to the company group, with whom we have had a strong business relationship for the last ten years.”
Moving forward, the studio plans to continue making similar games.
“The combination of our experiences will help us to offer increasingly exciting games for our fans, extending the frontiers of the music genre in the gaming sector,” said Delorme.
Kundratitz echoed that sentiment.
“I am sure that the combined knowledge of our companies will open new opportunities within the music gaming market,” said the Koch CEO. “[And it] underlines our growth ambitions as global entertainment content provider across all genres, target groups, and distribution channels.”
Or, in other words: Business!
