TL;DR
- Splash Damage has acquired Gamepires, the Croatian developer of survival game Scum, from Jagex in a deal backed by private equity firm Emona Capital, combining Splash Damage's multiplayer FPS expertise with Gamepires' open-world survival and live service capabilities.
- The acquisition comes just three months after Splash Damage placed its entire staff into redundancy consultation, and follows the studio's September break from Tencent after being acquired by Emona Capital, which also backs Relic Entertainment, Blackbird Interactive, and Amber Studio.
Splash Damage The Bromley-based developer, best known for games like Dirty Bomb and its co-development work on Gears Tactics and Batman: Arkham Origins multiplayer, has acquired Gamepires, the Croatian studio behind Scum, from Jagex. The deal is backed by private equity firm Emona Capital, which quietly became Splash Damage's owner when the studio broke away from Tencent in September.
From Redundancy Consultations to Acquisition in Three Months
In late 2025, the studio placed its entire staff into consultation ahead of redundancies, a deeply unsettling period for everyone working there. That kind of announcement typically signals contraction, not expansion.
Emona Capital was completing its acquisition of the studio from Tencent, and the restructuring was part of that process rather than a sign of terminal decline. Three months later, Splash Damage is announcing an acquisition of its own, with a new CEO, a new strategic direction, and a franchise that has sold close to six million copies.
Ben Hopkinson, who was Splash Damage's CFO through the Tencent years, has stepped into the CEO role for the combined entity. He described the acquisition as a "defining moment" and was clear about what the combined structure is designed to achieve: "Our independence and experience, together with the acquisition of Gamepires, strengthens our ability to scale live-service titles and build new premium multiplayer experiences. Alongside the strategic support and industry network of Emona Capital, this new structure provides a stable and positive future for Splash Damage."
What Gamepires and Scum Bring to the Table
Scum launched in Early Access in 2018 published by Devolver Digital and became Devolver's fastest-selling release at the time, reaching one million sales in its first month. It exited Early Access in June 2025 and now sits at nearly six million total units sold according to GameDiscoverCo data.
Survival games tend to build communities that engage deeply with the title over long periods rather than moving on after a few weeks, and Scum has maintained meaningful player activity for seven years across its early access and full release lifecycle.
Jagex acquired Gamepires in 2022 while Scum was still in Early Access, the same year the game's initial publisher Devolver Digital stepped back. The RuneScape developer was building out a broader portfolio of games beyond its flagship MMO, but that strategy has since been wound back as Jagex has refocused on its core business.
Emona Capital's Growing Games Portfolio
The Emona Capital angle in this deal is worth examining because the firm is becoming a meaningful force in the games industry without necessarily receiving the attention that more prominent investors attract.
Emona backed the Secret Mode buyout in March 2025, acquiring the publishing label from Sold Out. Its games portfolio now includes Amber Studio, Blackbird Interactive, and Relic Entertainment alongside Splash Damage and now Gamepires. Relic in particular is a studio with significant heritage, having developed the Homeworld series, Company of Heroes, and Dawn of War before being acquired by Sega and then transitioning to Emona's ownership.
More:WYLDE Becomes Official Esports Partner of the League of Ireland, Bringing EA FC Competition to Irish Football
Read
Source Editing
Visual Editing
Related news
