I wrote for Naavik about Aonic’s acquisition of VR studio nDreams. Read the full article here.
Why I wrote about this
Aonic came seemingly from nowhere and bought a VR studio of all things for $100+ million. It’s not only a roll-up story echoing early Embracer, it’s a VR roll-up!
The gist of it
Swedish holding company Aonic acquired UK-based VR specialist nDreams for $110 million, after first investing $35 million in 2022. Aonic is following a familiar Nordic playbook: acquire small-to-mid-sized studios, centralize shared services, and let creative teams focus on development. Its portfolio spans PC and console indies, an Apple Arcade studio, and a kids’ platform (with a notable absence of mobile F2P) while also investing in ad tech to support its ecosystem.
The playbook in a nutshell is to provide capital, publishing expertise, and operational support, effectively internalizing what traditional indie publishers offer. However, as Embracer’s recent struggles show, absorbing development risk at scale is easier said than done. The strategy looks broad rather than tightly focused. In any case, its success hinges on strong target selection.
Another big question is VR. nDreams has been all-in on VR for a decade and built a 250-person team around premium titles like Synapse and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord. While global VR headset installations are growing and could reach console-like scale, engagement and monetization remain weak relative to traditional platforms. For nDreams, the exit looks excellent. For Aonic, it’s a calculated bet that VR will pay off.
Key takeaways
- Aonic is executing a classic Scandinavian roll-up strategy with a little bit of everything in the mix, reminiscent of early Embracer.
- $110M is a bold price for a VR-focused studio in a still-niche market.
- VR hardware adoption is growing, but engagement and revenue fundamentals are still not there.
- For nDreams, becoming world-class in a niche paid off. For Aonic, execution risk now begins.