Sumo Group acquires Mars Horizon developer Auroch Digital

The Sumo Group has acquired Auroch Digital. The Bristol-based indie, which is responsible for a number of titles based on or around strategic board games, was bought for £6m. 

It’s most recent title hit was Mars Horizon, which has approaching 1,800 largely positive reviews on Steam. The developer is currently working on Brewmaster, a beer brewing sim coming to PC and Console in 2022. In the past its released Dark Future, Ogre, Chainsaw Warrior and Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics, all based around tabletop titles. 

The acquisitions of the developer swells the ranks at Sumo by another 48 staff. As well as giving the company the chance to grow in Bristol, a creative hub in the south west. The purchase takes the groups number of studios to 15. 

Carl Cavers, CEO of Sumo Group, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Tomas and the Auroch Digital team to the Group. Given our increasing focus on Own-IP, we are particularly excited by Auroch Digital’s pipeline of original IP. So, while this is a relatively small acquisition, it is a highly significant one for us strategically.”

Dr Tomas Rawlings, Founder and Studio Director of Auroch Digital, added: “We’re really excited to be joining the Sumo Group family. We share so many values and Sumo will be a good home for us. We have a shared desire always to improve the quality and depth of the games we make, a commitment to being a positive and respectful workplace, a desire to invest in new talent, and a shared wish to make a lot of fun, engagement and gameplay for all. Auroch Digital joining Sumo Group really is the natural next step in our journey and we’re really excited to be taking it together.”