Koch Media rebrands as Plaion as it continues to expand under Embracer

gamedeveloper.com:

Koch Media is rebranding as Plaion to "better represent its history and the groups it works with."

The news comes over four years after Koch, which owns Saints Row publisher Deep Silver, was acquired by Embracer Group (then THQ Nordic) for around $150 million.

Koch Media co-founder and CEO, Klemens Kundratitz, said the decision to rebrand was made to reflect the "evolving nature" of the business post-acquisition.

"Since joining the Embracer Group in 2018, growth has accelerated and we have become increasingly diversified," they said. "To reflect the evolving nature of our business in terms not only of content, but also of geography, as we continue our expansion across the globe, we have chosen our new name to better portray who we are and the journey we are taking."

Kundratitz suggested the Plaion moniker encapsulates the company's newfound status as both a global publisher and developer, and expressed a desire to "embrace change."

Since being acquired by Embracer, Koch expanded with a variety of acquisitions including deals for mechanise specialist Development Plus Inc, Let's Sing developer Voxler, Dutch VR studio Vertigo, and more.

It has also opened two new publishing offices in Asia to expand its global footprint, debuted a new publishing arm called Prime Matter, and signed significant publishing deals including a recent agreement to co-publish Payday 3.