Last December, popular indie developers Image & Form and Zoink Games merged and created The Thunderful Group, also known as Thunderful. Today, Thunderful revealed that they acquired publisher Rising Star Games, and that they have appointed a new Managing Director.

According to Thunderful, this acquisition is part of their effort to establish Thunderful Publishing, which would focus on acquisitions and publishing titles on par with Image & Form and Zoink Games' quality. The studio claims interest has already been "substantial", so 100% of Rising Star Games's shares were purchased to help Thunderful manage this new workload. This isn't the first time the studios have worked together, as Rising Star Games published the physical version of SteamWorld Dig 2 on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

After this acquisition, Thunderful will have new offices in both the US and UK. While any games currently under development at Rising Star Games will release with the publisher's current label most future western titles will not. That being said, Rising Star Games' tagline is "the home of Japanese Games" so Thunderful will use the Rising Star Games branding when publishing Japanese games.

Rising Star Games and Thunderful have also received a new Managing Director, Ed Valiente, who has previously worked for companies like Sony, Square, Bandai Namco, Microsoft, and Nintendo of Europe. Brjann Sigurgeirsson, CEO of The Thunderful Group, commented on bringing Ed Valiente on board:

"Once he knew what we were planning, getting Ed hooked on the idea was easy. It’s the first time we recruited from outside Sweden, so it’s been a good exercise in dealing with Swedish red tape, housing and what have you. Having him on board is absolutely delightful."

This acquisition bodes well for Thunderful, and should give them some clout within games publishing. DualShockers will be sure to let you know when Thunderful Publishing announces its first title.