Dune: Spice Wars developer Shiro Games raises €50 million to make new games and publish third-party titles
French developer Shiro Games has raised €50 million. This studio behind games like Northgard and Dune: Spice Wars will remain independent and invest in the development of new projects.
New investment
The round was led by the Cathay Capital fund, according to a Les Echos report. It brings Shiro Games’ valuation to €150 million.
The money will be used to hire new staff and produce two new games, which are yet to be announced. These titles are expected to come out in 2024.
“Many well-known studios are dependent on a franchise that has made them successful, forcing them to produce successive sequels at the risk of tiring players, or are prisoners of a genre on which they are referents. But Shiro has this rare ability to multiply successes in very different genres and universes,” Alantra senior advisor Cédric Lagarrigue, who advised Cathay Capital on this investment, said.
Co-founders Sébastien Vidal and Nicolas Cannasse will maintain control over the studio. Shiro Games will remain independent, also focusing on publishing titles from third-party teams via its Shiro Unlimited label launched last year.
Shiro Games has already signed publishing deals with three European studios, with the first two games expected to launch next year.
Who are Shiro Games?
- Founded in 2012, the studio has become one of France’s most successful indie developers. It currently employs around 60 people.
- Shiro Games gained recognition after launching Evoland, a nostalgic ode to classic role-playing games, in 2013. It was ported on multiple platforms, including consoles and mobile, and received a sequel in 2015.
- Northgard, an RTS inspired by Norse mythology, became the company’s biggest hit to date. It received positive reviews and sold over 3 million units, according to Shiro Games CEO Nicolas Cannasse.
- The studio’s latest project is Dune: Spice Wars, a Funcom-published RTS with core elements of 4X strategies. The game came out in Early Access earlier this year and received positive reviews from the first players.
