Behaviour Interactive closes one studio, buys another the following week

Just like Behaviour Interactif, which is located in the Mile-Ex district of Montreal, the studio Red Hook made in the horror video game. Its catalog includes the series Darkest Dungeongames that have sold over 7 million copies.

The 29 team members will continue to operate as an independent studio within Behaviourthe company said.

This is an important element for Red Hook studio co-founder Chris Bourassa, who wants to fully focus on the transformation of Darkest Dungeon into an undisputed giant of the genre”dark fantasy“.

Both studios are Canadian, independent and dedicated to fantasy horror games. Our difference is scale, and this acquisition opens the door to new possibilities.

For Rémi Racine, co-founder and CEO of Behaviour Interactif, this is a strategic decision.

Earlier this year, we set an ambitious goal for our future as a publisher: to make Behaviour synonymous with horror, and to support Dead by Daylight from a catalog of equally exceptional horror gameshe said in a press release.

The acquisition of Red Hook is a further step towards this goal. [de renforcer sa position de leader dans les jeux d’horreur] and more are coming.

According to our information, Behaviour Interactive staff members were informed of the acquisition on Monday by email. However, the communication did not mention the closure of its Seattle studio Midwinter Entertainment, revealed last week by Radio-Canada. (new window)nor the cancellation of his video game Project T.

Unveiled in May for the PC, Project T was a shooter game derived from the horror game Dead by Daylightwhich has more than 50 million followers worldwide.

Behaviour Interactive had announced on its social networks the cancellation of the video game, but not the dismantling of its responsible studio.

Two separate events, says Behaviour

The closing of Midwinter and the acquisition of Red Hook are two separate events.insists Aude Laliberté, public relations manager at Behaviour Interactif.

The Seattle studio, acquired two years ago (new window)was closed following internal risk analyses and strategic reorganizationshe says, before specifying that it is extremely difficult, these days, for a new intellectual property to carve out a place for itself in the market.

Midwinter Entertainment staff members – there were about 30 of them in 2022 – have been offered a transfer to Montreal or Toronto (new window). The company that is nicknamed the most important independent video game studio in Canada also has studios in the Netherlands. (new window) and in the United Kingdom (new window).

Difficulties in the industry

The video game industry has indeed been struggling for months, due, among other things, to the inflationary and post-pandemic context.

Behaviour Interactif has not been spared from the waves of layoffs hitting the sector. In January, the studio had eliminated around forty positions. (new window) In June, the axe fell on some 95 positions, including 70 in Montreal. (new window)

In addition, Behaviour had acquired the Montreal studio Fly (new window) between these two announcements.

The Red Hook Acquisition is part of a strategy to grow Behaviour’s horror portfolio by aligning with studios that share our values ​​and have intellectual properties that are already successfulspecifies Aude Laliberté.

The video game developer and publisher recently launched The Cast of Frank Stonewhich is based on Dead by Daylight. Also, the studio has partnered with Scandinavian company Haenir Studios to develop Blight : Survivalwhich is described as a medieval action-horror epic.

Asked whether the latest purchase will bring greater stability to Behaviour Interactive’s staff of about 1,250, the public relations manager replied: Stability is always what we want.