Plaion GmbH, which was previously called Koch Media, is an Austrian media company based in Höfen, Tyrol, with another office in Planegg, Germany. It was started in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company manages several video game publishing companies, including Deep Silver, Prime Matter, and Ravenscourt, as well as video game development studios like Warhorse Studios and Milestone. It also has a film distribution department called Plaion Pictures. Koch Media’s main company, Koch Media Holding, was bought by a Swedish company called Embracer Group (then known as THQ Nordic AB) in February 2018.
History
Koch Media was started in 1994 by Franz Koch, who also founded Koch International, and his business partner, Klemens Kundratitz. The company focused on selling and distributing software. Koch Media operated from offices in Germany and Austria, while a regional branch, Koch Media Ltd., was opened in England. In 1995, Koch Media sold over 250,000 software licenses. In 1996, the company began distributing video games. A regional subsidiary, Koch Media AG, was created in Switzerland in 1998. A holding company, Koch Media Holding, was formed in 2000 to manage Koch Media’s different business areas. That same year, Koch Media srl was created as a regional subsidiary for Italy.
In 2002, Koch Media started Deep Silver as a video game publishing division to support games the company was already distributing. A film division, Koch Home Entertainment, was announced in June 2003 and officially formed in October. A game label for mass-market games, Fantastic.tv, was introduced in November 2003. In October 2005, Koch Media bought SG Diffusion, a French distributor that had recently partnered 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 subsidiary to manage licenses. Another game label, Spielen wir (meaning "Let's Play"), was launched in July 2008 to publish casual games. That same month, Koch Media acquired Proein, the Spanish distribution arm of SCi Entertainment, with terms not disclosed. Proein was renamed Koch Media S.L.U. in January 2009. Regional offices for Scandinavian and Benelux countries, managed by the England subsidiary, opened in February and July 2009, respectively. In March 2012, Koch Media had 250 employees. A new game publishing label, Ravenscourt, was created in March 2015 to focus on simulation games. In August 2015, Koch Media Licensing GmbH was renamed Koch Films GmbH and took over the operations of the former Koch Home Entertainment division.
On February 14, 2018, Koch Media Holding was bought by THQ Nordic AB (later known as Embracer Group), a Swedish video game holding company. The agreement was signed at 8:00 AM and announced the same day. The purchase price was €91.5 million, paid as €66 million in cash at closing, €9.5 million in stock by June 15, 2018, and €16 million in cash by August 14, 2018. The total value for Koch Media’s share capital was €121 million on a cash and debt-free basis.
Koch and Kundratitz 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, Koch wanted to retire, and no family members were interested in taking over the business. Koch requested all payment go to Koch Media instead of himself, so the company could benefit 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 February 13, 2019, Koch Media agreed to buy Warhorse Studios, a Czech developer. Warhorse’s game Kingdom Come: Deliverance had been co-published by Deep Silver one year earlier. Koch Media paid €42.8 million, equal to Warhorse’s 2018 earnings, to buy the studio and its intellectual property. The acquisition was completed later that day. Also on February 13, 2019, Koch Media acquired 18point2, an Australian publishing partner, for €1.9 million to strengthen its presence in Australia. These acquisitions added 120 and 8 employees, respectively, to Koch Media’s staff.
In June 2019, THQ Nordic AB bought KSM GmbH, a German distributor of anime films, from its founder and CEO, Benjamin Krause. KSM will be merged into Koch Films. Gaya Entertainment, a merchandise production company, was also acquired. Nordic Games Group, a holding company controlled by THQ Nordic AB’s CEO Lars Wingefors, was sold to THQ Nordic AB for €1 at the end of its first fiscal quarter in 2019. Gaya Entertainment will be combined with Koch Media’s operations. On August 14, 2019, Koch Media agreed to fully buy Milestone srl, a racing game developer, and its intellectual property for €44.9 million in cash. The acquisition was completed later that day.
Koch Films acquired Sola Media, a German company that licenses television and films for children and family content, in August 2020. Later that month, Koch Media opened offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo, both led 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 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 fund the production, release, and post-launch support of Payday 3, with Starbreeze retaining ownership of the intellectual property.
Koch Media launched a new publishing division, Prime Matter, in June 2021, based in Munich.
On August 4, 2022, Koch Media rebranded as Plaion. In October 2022, Plaion Pictures acquired Anime Limited, a British anime distributor, for an undisclosed amount. In May 2023, Gamesindustry.biz reported plans to close Deep Silver, Ravenscourt, and Prime Matter, and combine the publishing business under the "Plaion" label.
In January 2025, Kundratitz announced he would step down as CEO and transfer leadership to Phil Rogers in April.
On December 19, 2025, Plaion Pictures agreed to a deal for Toho to sell its 100% ownership of Anime Limited for an undisclosed amount. Anime Limited will become a fully-owned subsidiary of Toho Global and help expand Toho’s operations to Europe.
Offices
In February 2018, Plaion's main office was in Höfen, a town in Austria's Tyrol region. Höfen has about 1,200 people and is near Bavaria, Germany. The company uses an office building in Höfen where 150 employees work in different departments. Embracer Group owns the office building and a nearby area that is 7,000 square meters (75,000 square feet) in size. Plaion also has another office in Planegg, a town in Bavaria near Munich. This office is called Plaion GmbH.