Aonic Completes Acquisition of nDreams for $110 million

Aonic has today completed the acquisition of nDreams, the world’s biggest VR game developer and publisher, for a total enterprise value close to $110 million.
 
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Aonic is a group of global gaming companies with diverse specialisms. The group, which includes the likes of Warren Spector’s OtherSide Entertainment, Milky Tea, Exmox and TutoTOONS, invested an initial $35 million in nDreams in March 2022 and received a minority stake.
 
This cash injection precipitated an incredibly fruitful period for nDreams, during which the team has more than doubled in size to 250 people. Internally-developed titles such as The Game Awards-nominated Synapse and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord have been released, while investments in third-party publishing have powered the chart-topping launch of PowerWash Simulator VR and the enduring success of Little Cities. nDreams even made its own debut acquisition with VR/AR experts Near Light joining in December 2022.
 
Aonic is on a rapid path to becoming the next global gaming powerhouse and has built a decentralised and collaborative structure in which its family of mid-sized studios can thrive. This includes plenty of opportunities for knowledge and resource sharing among specialised teams. Having spent more than a decade at the forefront of VR gaming, nDreams brings unrivalled expertise in XR technologies and markets for fellow Aonic studios to tap into.
 
Meanwhile, nDreams will continue its trajectory under familiar leadership, with co-founders Patrick and Tamsin O’Luanaigh (Chief Executive Officer and Chief People Officer respectively) remaining in their positions alongside the rest of the company’s executive team. Its core focus will remain unchanged, while benefiting from a stable and supportive environment to continue growing. The investment will facilitate nDreams’ future investments in third-party publishing and, potentially, more studio acquisitions.
 
“We set up nDreams in 2006, pivoted to focus exclusively on VR games in 2013, and we’re proud of everything we’ve achieved as an independent company,” said Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO of nDreams. “After 18 months of working together, we’re confident we’ve found the right partner in Aonic. This is the right moment to welcome their support to strengthen our position even further, and seize this critical moment for VR and MR.”
 
“nDreams has done an unparalleled job bringing some of the biggest VR titles to market, and it was a natural fit for us to welcome them to the Aonic family and provide our studios with the best team when it comes to the VR/MR gaming space,” said Paul Schempp, CEO of Aonic. “This acquisition is yet another example of Aonic’s commitment to championing mid-sized studios and creating an environment where teams can create fantastic games.”
 
More exciting projects are being worked on across all of nDreams’ four development studios, not to mention partnering third-party developers, with exciting announcements lined up for 2024 and beyond.
 
About nDreams:
nDreams is the world’s biggest and most experienced VR game developer and publisher. Headquartered in Farnborough, UK, it is the studio behind groundbreaking titles including Synapse, Phantom: Covert Ops, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, Far Cry: Dive Into Insanity, and Fracked. nDreams also boasts a dedicated and extremely experienced publishing team to partner with the industry’s brightest developers on projects ranging from the critically-acclaimed Little Cities to PowerWash Simulator VR.
 
Fully dedicated to VR games since 2013, no publisher has greater virtual reality experience and specialism. nDreams is now comprised of 250 people across four development teams, with two fully-remote studios – Elevation and Orbital – joining the original nDreams Studio and the Brighton-based Near Light to cover the whole spectrum of VR gaming.
Multiple exciting, unannounced titles are in development, with more to be revealed soon.
 
About Aonic:
Aonic is a diversified video gaming group with the ambition to become the next gaming powerhouse. From the outset, Aonic was created to fill a clear gap in our industry: to build a truly supportive home for high quality, mid-sized teams.
 
With a focus on proven yet highly dynamic entrepreneurs and creative innovators, Aonic’s end goal is to craft fantastic games and ever-improving services that translate into high organic growth.
 
Aonic is not a portfolio of studios, but a platform of like-minded enthusiasts. To supercharge growth, Aonic runs a clearly defined hybrid operating model with a belief in decentral empowerment to foster creativity. Unlocking synergies between companies with this collaborative infrastructure and cross-team collaboration is a key aim.