Invincible owner Skybound Entertainment has brought Electronic Arts’ Jeff Chaiken into its ranks. The former executive will serve as its senior VP, and help with acquisitions.
Chaiken specializes in mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships. While at EA, he helped it snatch up Respawn, Codemasters, and properties like Golf Clash and Super Mega Baseball.
Skybound’s legal officer Ned Sherman said his hiring shows the company is “eagerly and actively looking for more deals.” It’s previously acquired other studios, including a Japan-based one to focus on manga and anime.
Skybound wants to acquire some studios, at the worst time for deals to be made
While Skybound has seen success in TV and comics, games have been trickier. Its last Walking Dead game was delisted in December after three months of Early Access.
As for Invincible, there was the Invincible: Atom Eve visual novel in November. But it’s yet to have a full-scale game on par with a Marvel or DC game, or even Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
In terms of partnerships, Skybound’s previously worked with Ubisoft, Beamdog, and Monomi Park. Last summer, it made a “substantial” investment in Wrestlequest dev Mega Cat Studios.
Acquisitions were all the rage a few years ago. But in the last year, their aftermath has been particularly devastating, which may give indie companies pause for thought if Skybound comes their way.