After our first Steam releases, Displacement Studios began expanding through acquisitions as well as original development. We went on something of an indie shopping spree: taking on games from other developers and adding refurbishment and publishing work to the studio's day-to-day life.
This chapter spans 2017–2018. Some of the games had already launched before we acquired them, others were acquired before their Steam release and subsequently launched by us.
Acquired games and their release dates
The following titles form part of our acquisition history. They are not a schedule of acquisition dates.
| Game | Steam release |
|---|---|
| Project RPG Remastered | |
| Trolley Gold | |
| Survival Tycoon | |
| Neon Coliseum | |
| Freedom: A Time to Reckon | |
| SMACKHEAD | |
| God Vs Zombies | |
| Snail Racer Extreme |
The variety mattered. The catalogue brought together role-playing, physics-based collecting, survival management, score attacks, first-person action, platforming, and racing. Each game arrived with its own design decisions and practical needs. There was no single update that would suit all of them, but many of them used similar engines which allowed for shared improvements and optimizations across multiple titles based on our studio's experience.
Three dates that document the acquisition work
For Project RPG, our acquisition was announced on 7 January 2018. The refurbishment announcement followed on 13 January 2018.
For Neon Coliseum, the 7 March 2018 announcement recorded the acquisition, a lower price (yay!), and inclusion in our publisher bundle (for the biggest savings).
For SMACKHEAD, the 17 May 2018 announcement documented both the acquisition and the changes made to the game. We were so excited to bring it into our catalogue that we shipped the improvements immediately.
Original development continued alongside the acquisitions
Snake Party was released on . Ladybird Reflect followed on . Both are Displacement Originals on a different (displaced 😉) timeline.
The studio's identity grew around those two kinds of work: making our own games and taking responsibility for existing ones. Acquisitions broadened the catalogue, but they also taught us to look carefully at contributors' agreements, existing communities, and the consequences of changing a released game.
Some of those lessons were technical; others came directly from players. Our article What "revamped" means at Displacement Studios looks at a successful round of practical fixes and an achievement update we would approach differently today.