Balatro owner Playstack sold to parent company of Fandom, Gamespot

Fandom and Gamespot’s parent, Integrated Media Company (IMC), is set to become the majority owner of Balatro publisher, Playstack.

Playstack’s current owner, Turin, announced the proposed sale earlier this week, as noted by Game Developer. It told investors it had agreed to sell its 84.5 percent stake in the UK publisher to VantageCo, a direct subsidiary of IMC, for £112.4 million ($151 million).

If the deal is approved by shareholders, it means the indie games publisher will become part of the same ownership as entertainment brands such as Fandom, Screen Junkies, Fanatical, and GameSpot.

Playstack claims it has a ‘hit ratio’ of more than 85 percent. The combined Playstack catalog has grossed over $100 million on Steam and generated over 20 million downloads during its last fiscal year.

TruFin CEO, James van den Bergh, said: “We believe the disposal of Playstack represents a milestone for TruFin and a clear demonstration of our disciplined approach to capital allocation and value creation.

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the Playstack team over the last few years and look forward to them achieving future success. MC is a superb platform for the next stage in Playstack’s journey and we wish the team at IMC well for the future.”

Playstack founder and CEO Harvey Elliot said: “I’m excited to share that Playstack is entering its next chapter with a new investment partner. In practical terms, this is a change in ownership rather than a change in who we are. Our team, our strategy, and our commitment to publishing premium indie games remain exactly the same.

“For now, it’s business as usual. I sincerely thank TruFin for being an invaluable partner over the past seven years, helping us reach this exciting next step.”