Game publisher TinyBuild has acqui-hired the development team behind hit game series Hello Neighbor from Dynamic Pixels and will invest more than $15 million in the franchise.
The new team will be called Eerie Guest Studios, and will be located be in Hilversum, Netherlands. The company didn’t disclose the deal price, but it is part of the $15 million investment. In addition to the acqui-hire, TinyBuild will put more money into the franchise over various media. Back in March, TinyBuild announced that Hello Neighbor — a horror game about a neighbor with a secret in his house — had seen over 30 million downloads, and now it says the game has more than 40 million players.
TinyBuild also said it has seen a surge in free-to-play and game subscription signups during the pandemic, indicating the popularity of value-driven entertainment as fans try to stay engaged with games without spending a lot of money. This trend played into the company’s decision to invest in the franchise and acqui-hire the development team.
TinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik recently announced that the company is working on a board game version of the horror game. TinyBuild is also looking at additional acquisitions to strengthen the brand and take it to new media. A graphic novel is coming out in October, and the Hello Neighbor Animated Series pilot has 12 million views on YouTube.
In addition to games, TinyBuild said its book project has generated $16 million in sales and $5 million in accessories sales.
The company has recently been giving out its new game, Totally Reliable Delivery Service, for free on the Epic Games Store. The game is available on the PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. TinyBuild has also published a prequel, Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek, and multiplayer spin-off Secret Neighbor.
This month, TinyBuild announced its partnership with Arcane Wonders to bring Hello Neighbor to the tabletop. The Secret Neighbor Party Game will hit all the major stores in October. The graphic novel Hello Neighbor: The Secret of Bosco Bay is also scheduled for release in October.
Nichiporchik was born in Latvia and lives between the U.S. and the Netherlands. He started his game career in 2002 at the age of 14, when he dropped out of high school to become a pro gamer. He worked as a games journalist, marketer, and producer across casual games and web games before starting TinyBuild with Tom Brien in 2011. TinyBuild has published over 30 titles.