Plaion GmbH, which was previously known as Koch Media, is an Austrian media company based in Höfen, Tyrol, and has another office in Planegg, Germany. It was started in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company runs video game publishing labels called Deep Silver, Prime Matter, and Ravenscourt, as well as video game development studios named Warhorse Studios and Milestone. It also manages a film distribution division called Plaion Pictures. Koch Media's main company, Koch Media Holding, was bought by a Swedish company called Embracer Group (which was then named THQ Nordic AB) in February 2018.
History
Koch Media was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and his business partner, Klemens Kundratitz. The company was created to market and distribute software. Koch Media operated from offices in Germany and Austria. A regional subsidiary, Koch Media Ltd., was opened in England. In 1995, Koch Media sold more than 250,000 software licenses. In 1996, the company began distributing video games. Another regional subsidiary, Koch Media AG, was formed in Switzerland in 1998. A holding company, Koch Media Holding, was established in 2000 to unite Koch Media's business areas. The same year, Koch Media srl was created as a regional subsidiary for Italy.
In 2002, Koch Media established Deep Silver as a video game publishing division to "complement games that Koch Media was distributing." A film division, Koch Home Entertainment, was announced in June 2003 and formally formed in early October. A game label for mass-market games, Fantastic.tv, was announced in November 2003. In October 2005, Koch Media acquired French distributor SG Diffusion, which had recently signed with NCsoft to distribute their game Guild Wars. SG Diffusion was renamed Koch Media SAS in January 2006. In February 2006, Koch Media Licensing GmbH was created as a license holding subsidiary. Another game label, named Spielen wir ("Let's Play"), was created in July 2008 to publish casual games. The same month, Koch Media acquired Proein, the Spanish distribution arm of SCi Entertainment, to undisclosed terms. Proein was renamed Koch Media S.L.U. in January 2009. Regional offices for Scandinavian and Benelux countries, operated by the England subsidiary, were opened in February and July that year, respectively. In March 2012, Koch Media had 250 employees. A game publishing label named Ravenscourt, focusing on simulation games, was announced in March 2015. In August 2015, Koch Media Licensing GmbH was renamed Koch Films GmbH and absorbed the operations of the former Koch Home Entertainment division.
On 14 February 2018, Koch Media Holding was acquired by THQ Nordic AB (later known as Embracer Group), a Swedish video game holding company. The purchase agreement was signed at 8:00 AM and announced the same day. The deal included a purchase price of €91.5 million, split into €66 million in cash paid at closing, €9.5 million in stock to be paid by 15 June 2018, and €16 million in cash to be paid by 14 August 2018. The total consideration for Koch Media's share capital was €121 million on a cash and debt-free basis.
Koch and Kundratitz had owned 90% and 10% of the company, respectively. Both sold their shares, and THQ Nordic AB became the sole owner. According to manager Reinhard Gratl, the sale occurred because Koch wanted to retire, and no one in his family was interested in taking over the business. Koch requested all money be paid to Koch Media instead of him, so the company could profit from the deal. Koch resigned from Koch Media on the same day. Koch Media's management, including CEO Kundratitz, CFO Gratl, and COO Stefan Kapelari, was joined by THQ Nordic AB's Erik Stenberg.
On 13 February 2019, Koch Media agreed to acquire Warhorse Studios, a Czech developer. Warhorse's game Kingdom Come: Deliverance had been co-published by Deep Silver exactly one year earlier. Koch Media paid €42.8 million, equal to Warhorse's 2018 earnings, to purchase the studio and its intellectual property. The acquisition closed later that day. Also on the same day, Koch Media acquired 18point2, an Australian publishing partner, for €1.9 million to strengthen its presence in Australia. The two acquisitions added 120 and 8 employees, respectively, to Koch Media's staff.
In June 2019, THQ Nordic AB acquired KSM GmbH, a German distributor of anime films, from its founder and CEO, Benjamin Krause. KSM will be merged into Koch Films. Also acquired was Gaya Entertainment, a merchandise production company. Nordic Games Group, a holding company controlled by THQ Nordic AB CEO Lars Wingefors, was sold to THQ Nordic AB for €1 at the end of its first fiscal quarter of 2019. Gaya Entertainment will be consolidated with Koch Media's operations. On 14 August 2019, Koch Media agreed to fully acquire racing game developer Milestone srl and all of its intellectual property for €44.9 million in cash. The acquisition was completed later that day.
Koch Films acquired Sola Media, a Stuttgart, Germany-based television-and-film licenser for children and family properties, in August 2020. Later that month, Koch Media opened offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo, both headed by Kundratitz, to expand publishing operations in Southeast Asia.
In September 2020, Koch Media acquired Vertigo Games, a company that develops, publishes, and distributes games exclusively for virtual reality platforms, including Arizona Sunshine and After the Fall.
In November 2020, Koch Media acquired Flying Wild Hog.
In March 2021, Koch Media signed a €50 million co-publishing deal with Starbreeze Studios to finance the production, release, and post-launch support of Payday 3, with Starbreeze Studios retaining ownership of the IP.
Koch Media opened a new publishing division
Offices
As of February 2018, Plaion's main office is in Höfen, a town with about 1,200 people located in Austria's Tyrol region near Bavaria, Germany. In Höfen, Plaion uses an office building where 150 employees work across different departments. The building and a nearby area covering 7,000 square metres (75,000 square feet) are owned by Embracer Group. In Planegg, a town in Bavaria close to Munich, Plaion runs a branch office named Plaion GmbH.