Battletech Developer Harebrained Schemes Bought by Paradox Interactive

If you play Shadowrun or Battletech, then I’ve got news you’re gonna want to hear: the developer behind those two titles, Harebrained Schemes, has officially been purchased by Paradox Interactive for $7.5 million + an unlisted percentage of earnings over a five-year period.

Paradox Interactive, the developer behind Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron, and other strategy games, has made it clear that Harebrained will continue to develop games with their own internal team, as is standard when one of these buyouts tends to happen.
 

"Harebrained Schemes have proven themselves as a world-class studio with a very talented team within a genre where Paradox wants to be present. In addition, we really like the studio, the people who run it, and their games; these are all absolute hard criteria for us in any acquisition."

That said, Paradox isn’t going completely hands-off. They’ll handle finances, marketing, PR, and of course, the publication of all their games going forward. They’ll also have final say over all future projects, which means that nothing will get developed without the go-ahead of their new overlords.

On top of more money, Harebrained CEO Jordan Weisman said that having a stable publisher will help them focus more on making games and less on the business of actually running a business, and provide them with “financial stability and marketing expertise” moving forward. All valid points.

One final side-effect of this acquisition? Apparently, it means Harebrained are hiring new staff because they can afford to expand. That’s lovely!

At the end of the day, this acquisition doesn’t impact much in the gaming world, or even people who are still waiting eagerly for the next Battletech update. But it’s good to know, especially since Paradox Interactive seem to be on the rise with the growth of the PC gaming market.

So we’ll see what becomes of this, won’t we?