Gearbox acquires Call of Duty, PUBG support studio Lost Boys Interactive

gamepur.com:

The video game acquisition train keeps on rolling. Gearbox Entertainment, which itself was acquired by Embracer Group in 2021, has brought Lost Boys Interactive under its wing.

A press release states that Gearbox has “entered into an agreement to fully acquire [the] independent video game studio.” Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford said that this move will “have an immediate and positive impact on the games secretly in development at Gearbox Software.” Lost Boys had a hand in developing Gearbox’s latest adventure, the fun fantasy romp of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. The studio has also contributed to major franchises like Call of Duty and PUBG: Battlegrounds.

This acquisition is part of a big goal for Lost Boys, according to CEO and co-founder Shaun Nivens. “We founded Lost Boys with a dream to work on products that would be globally recognized and loved,” Nivens said. “We’re incredibly excited to join Gearbox and continue doing what we do best.” The studio has other goals too, specifically in its hiring. Lost Boys currently has “more than 220 employees,” and it’s looking to increase that number to 350 by the year 2024.

This isn’t the only recent acquisition involving Gearbox — or at least studio boss Randy Pitchford. A lifelong lover of magic, Pitchford recently purchased The Magic Castle, a Los Angeles staple that was in danger of shutting down due to the covid-19 pandemic.