Amber acquires Madbricks game studio in Colombia

Amber, a video game development agency, has acquired the Colombian game studio Madbricks.

This acquisition marks the vanguard of Amber’s new initiative to foster a collaborative approach to co-development, as it seeks to expand its global workforce by integrating external studios. Amber specializes in external development, or making games for other game companies.

“We have been looking at Colombia as a market for talent for many years. We have worked with Madbricks on a couple of projects already so we have a long standing relationship with that studio. hey are a trusted partner. And even more than that, they are very culturally compatible with us,” said Mihai Pohonțu, CEO of Amber, in an interview with GamesBeat. “One one of the things that is core to Amber’s values is our investment in community. And Madbricks has the same vision.”

Based in Bogotá, Colombia, Madbricks has specialized in co-development and full development across multiple genres and platforms over the past ten years.

“We were impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the Madbricks team during our past collaboration, so this acquisition is a natural next step in our relationship. Emerging markets are part of our DNA, and Madbricks will solidify our presence in the South American games industry landscape,” said Pohontu.

During that time, it has grown to roughly 40 staffers, and has successfully shipped games on every major platform from mobile to PC and console, solidifying its position as a leading studio in the emerging gaming landscape of Colombia and South America.

Pohontu noted that Miguel Benavides, CEO at Madbricks, is head of the Colombian Videogames Association, COVA, which has more than 30 game studios. Benavides has been trying to grow the educational base of game talent in Colombia so that the industry can grow. That’s a similar strategy to what Amber has done in other countries.

Pohontu said that Amber has helped train thousands of game developers in Mexico and it would love to do the same in Colombia.

“In that, we are very much aligned with Madbricks and their leadership. That’s something that will happen over the years. Latin America is one of the hottest emerging regions in game development today. So there is a lot of energy and a lot of investment going into Latin America,” Pohontu said. “Obviously, they have the great advantage of being aligned with the U.S. and Canada, which are very strong game that markets, but also in sports, specifically, as it relates to Colombia.”

He added, “The thing that impresses impressed me always about the location is that they have such a wide array of indie studios and local game developers are eminently creative. So they definitely punch above their weight in terms of creativity.”

In that way, Pohontu said that Madbricks and Colombia remind him of Romania, where Amber started.

Madbricks leadership team

The acquisition builds on the two parties’ successful collaboration, as Amber and Madbricks have worked together in the past on various projects with great results.

“For Madbricks, becoming part of Amber means bigger projects and the opportunity to learn from a developed organization like Amber,” said Benavides, in a statement. “We pride ourselves on our ability to generate a fast-paced high production value pipeline, and we believe that joining Amber, with its vast, global resources, will tighten our efficiency even further and allow us to fully realize our vision for the company and local industry.”

Founded in 2013 in Bucharest, Amber is a game development agency structured as a network of studios with different specializations, offering a wide range of video game development solutions, including complete product delivery, co-development, platform conversion, live operations, and support services. Amber currently employs more than 850 staff and, through its partners, maintains a global talent network of 3,400 specialists.

Amber has worked or continues to work with the most popular gaming companies: Amazon, King, Big Fish Games, Disney, N3twork, Rovio, Warner Media, and That Game Company.

Amber has developed games such as Tetris Beat, Super Spy Ryan, Formula E: High Voltage, PositronX, and Link Twin, and has contributed to developing successful titles such as Sky: Children of Light, Nascar Heat 5, Secret Neighbor, Wild Things and others.

Amber is headquartered in Bucharest and has offices in Botoșani, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Bogotá, Montreal, Manila, and Kyiv.

With a track record of creating games for Voodoo, ByteDance, and Maximum Games, Madbricks has earned a reputation for delivering top-tier gaming experiences that resonate with audiences worldwide.

Their titles have sold hundreds of thousands of units across various platforms, showcasing their versatility and proficiency in game development. From console to PC and mobile, Madbricks has shipped games on every major platform, solidifying its position as a leading force in the global gaming landscape.

Pohontu said that costs of running a game studio in Colombia are about 20% less expensive than Amber’s operations in Eastern Europe, which already is much less expensive than places like the U.S. and Canada.

He said the company plans to grow the studio in Colombia, just as it did after acquiring a small studio in Guadalajara, Mexico. That studio started with 25 people and it is now more than 200, and there are established educational institutions in the local game community too.

“We believe that the same pattern will occur in Colombia,” Pohontu said.

Pohontu said that Colombia has political stability and that matters. That’s one of the first things that Amber looks for when it searches for partners. It also looks for homegrown talent and established studios, as opposed to freelancers or contractors. Amber currently has 850 employees, but it also works with a lot of contractors — about 3,400 people that it can tap when it needs additional support. This structure allows Amber to scale up or down as needed based on demand.

The company does due diligence not only on political stability but also the macroeconomic picture, and Colombia is relatively stable as a country now. He acknowledged it had both social and political upheaval in the past, but he believes the new generations of Colombians are “keen to prove to the world that their country is worth taking seriously. I think it shows a lot of promise.”

Madbricks has experimented with a variety of different game genres. They have been a good mobile game developer, and Amber will likely grow its PC and console game development capabilities.

“It’s worth noting that these days, a majority of Amber’s work comes from PC and console for development, which is a marked change from the past,” Pohontu said. “We used to be mobile first company, but especially after the pandemic, most of the external development work available in the industry has veered away from mobile and then back to the traditional platforms.”

Pohontu noted that Colombia has a higher ratio of Unreal engine developers than there are in places like Mexico. The last time that Amber added another studio was in the Philippines in 2020. There are nearly 100 people working for that studio in Manila today. That one is focused on quality assurance and art.

Pohontu noted that Amber’s revenues have reflected demand in the industry, and so Amber’s revenues in 2023 were lower than in the prior year. The company severely curtailed its presence in mobile games, and so Amber reoriented itself to doing core game development.

“We’ve adapted and now the situation is stable, and we feel confident enough to emerge as an acquirer of studios,” Pohontu said. “And in a part of the reason that we are able to do this is because we have a unique skill set in taking emerging markets outfits and making them better. We have showcased this already in several locations, including in our original location in Romania. Amber is in a good place today.”

Overall, Pohontu believes that growth is starting to come back to games.

“We’re definitely seeing increased levels of investment,” Pohontu said. “You can look at investment levels and you’re finding a resurgence. We’re not back to the golden era [during the pandemic when gamer demand surged and game companies hired a lot of people]. There wasn’t much investment in the last couple of years as companies retreated to their core slates. The hope is that in 2025, they will start looking at that seriously.”

As for external development, Pohontu believes it’s a great time to be an acquirer. Many talented studios are looking to exit tough situations. Amber, fortunately, raised $20 million in capital in 2022, back when it was easier to do so.

Pohontu recognizes it’s a very tough time in the industry with so many layoffs. Those layoffs result in massive moral hits for internal teams. There is also the drive toward unionization.

Pohontu said the company is profitable and it is not looking for funding now. He noted that the industry has been doing so poorly that company valuations are depressed.