Aspyr is an independent developer and publisher founded in Austin, Texas, in 1996 by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch, who still manage the company. Aspyr got their start by specializing in porting and publishing games on MacOS, working on popular franchises such as Borderlands and Star Wars. Aspyr has a long track-record of consistent, profitable growth and has evolved into a world-class developer and publisher having expanded its’ porting, production and publishing capabilities to include products on Windows PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and mobile devices.
Aspyr maintains strong and long-standing partnerships with many leading game publishers and IP owners Aspyr has worked with 2K Games since 2006 when the company ported 2K Games’s “Sid Meier’s Civilization IV” from PC to MacOS. Since then, Aspyr has ported over 20 2K games and expansion packs to various devices and consoles. Under a typical porting and distribution agreement, Aspyr incurs the development costs to convert the game and then works with the publisher and distribution partners to successfully bring the game to market.
Aspyr has proven capabilities in all aspects of the game development and publishing lifecycle and has a history of successfully bringing games to new platforms. Through the acquisition, Embracer’s position within asset care is strengthened and builds on Saber’s portfolio of development projects based on licensed external IPs. Additionally, Embracer sees ample room to accelerate Aspyr’s growth by acquiring more licenses, leveraging Saber’s development capabilities while cooperating with other companies within the wider Embracer Group. Aspyr will remain independent under Saber Interactive, with the founders Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch continuing to manage day-to-day operations.
“I have been a fan of Aspyr for longer than I have been in the industry. Michael and Ted are true entrepreneurs that have built a business by identifying and exploiting opportunity where no one else saw it. They are a perfect fit for Embracer and I am proud to now call them partners. Together we will be able to greatly expand our development and publishing activities here in the US. Stay tuned for details on some of the amazing games we have under joint development. Today is a truly amazing day for Saber and the entire Group” says Matthew Karch, CEO Saber Interactive and Director of the Embracer Board.
“We are thrilled to join forces with Saber and to become part of the entire Embracer family. We are confident that Embracer is the ideal partner for us as we look to accelerate growth and execute on our exciting pipeline. We have been in the games industry for two and a half decades, but it feels like we are just getting started. We look forward to exploring opportunities to collaborate with other entrepreneurs within the wider Embracer Group to bring celebrated games to our fellow gamers around the world” says Michael Rogers, Co-founder and CEO Aspyr.
Aspyr has an exciting pipeline and is looking to build on its’ vast catalogue during the next few years as well as to bring out new content based on multiple licensed IP’s. Aspyr currently has several games under development including one major ongoing game development project with a approximately budget of USD 70 million. that is expected to become an important for the entire group. These development projects will engage more than 200 internal and external developers with the core team in Austin, Texas, and will contribute to Embracer’s release slate in the coming years.