Thunderful Group has initiated its latest restructuring plan, reducing the workforce in its game development and publishing business. Meanwhile, Atari has entered into an agreement to invest in the company.
According to the announcement, as Thunderful continues to generate negative cash flow, the restructuring is “expected to result in cost reductions,” and thereby result in “improved cash flow.”
As of June 30, the company’s net debt amounted to SEK 85 million (around $8.8 million) and available liquidity was SEK 32 million (around $3.3 million). The restructuring, which includes workforce reductions within its game development studios and publishing arm (as well as reductions within other group-wide services), is expect to result in cost reductions of SEK 6-8 million (around $622,000-$829,000) during the second half of 2025, and SEK 40-45 million (around $4.1 to $4.6 million) for the full year 2026.
The company said that the publishing business has had “a challenging quarter,” pointing out its over-dependency on individual game releases as a problem. In particular, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, released on June 17, has shown “weaker sales than expected.” The co-development and services business area has had a “utilization rate during the second quarter in line with expectations,” but the company says it remains dependent on “securing existing and new customers for 2026 and beyond.”
“It is unfortunate to have to implement further operational measures that affect some of our colleagues,” Thunderful chairman Patrick Svensk said. “At the same time, I am convinced that this is the right path for Thunderful to create an efficient organization within the publishing business where our announced release pipeline remains intact.”
Today’s restructuring is the latest in a series of divestments and layoffs within Thunderful. Chief games officer Agostino Simonetta, who previously worked as director of global partnership management at ID@Xbox, departed the company in December 2023 amid a leadership reshuffle. A month later, Thunderful laid off 20 percent of staff due to “over-investments.” In February 2024, Thunderful CEO Martin Walfisz reassured investors that the restructuring program was “off to a good start.”
In April 2024, Thunderful divested video game and peripheral distributor Nordic Game Supply in an attempt to offload “non-strategic assets.” Then, in November, the company announced yet another restructuring plan for its publishing business, laying off between 80 and 100 employees. In February of this year, Jumpship co-founder Dino Patti reacquired the studio from Thunderful, which the company had bought back in 2022.
Atari joins the equation
As Thunderful starts its latest restructuring, Atari has announced an agreement to enter the equation: the companies will participate in a directed share issue of SEK 50.0 million (approximately $5.1 million).
Announced early today via an investor statement, Atari will become the owner of approximately 82 percent of the outstanding shares and votes of Thunderful by way of a directed issuance of 333,333,334 new ordinary shares at a subscription price of SEK 0.15, corresponding to the $5.1 million total.
The transaction is subject to approval by Thunderful’s shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting that will be held on or about August 28 of this year. According to the announcement, the transaction has received unanimous support from Thunderful’s board of directors, as well as two of Thunderful’s shareholders, Owe Bergsten and Brjann Sigurgeirsson, who together own 29.9 percent of the capital and voting rights in the company.
Atari won’t be required to make a mandatory bid offer for the remaining shares in Thunderful under Swedish takeover rules, thanks to an exemption granted by the Swedish Securities Council.
“This transaction marks another important milestone in Atari’s development with the expansion of its publishing and development capabilities in the European region,” chairman and chief executive officer of Atari, SA, Wade Rosen, said. “Thunderful is recognized for publishing and developing critically acclaimed games, and with the announced transformation plan, as well as the quality and commitment of Thunderful’s teams, we are confident that Thunderful will be returning to a profitable growth path while helping to further develop Atari operations in Europe.”
Back in September 2024, Rosen told Game Developer that the company is done being a “fast follower,” after spending millions acquiring studios like Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios, which have become “North Star” deals for Atari. He also said that the company “wouldn’t say no” to more studio acquisitions, but not without being wary of the complexity and the potential for things to go wrong.
“What people also don’t consider is the opportunity cost,” Rosen said at the time. “As soon as you do that it takes your team a long time to merge and start working together. That will come at the cost of doing something else. […] I have to remind myself of that all the time. It’s not just the cost of paying, it’s the fact that I’ve paid a cost and am now having to give up an opportunity. Those [acquisitions] will make sense, but they’re few and far between. We’re trying to stay focused on the main goal, which is sustainability.”
Game Developer has contacted Thunderful Group for more information on the restructuring.
