Asmodee says the Board Game Arena platform is a natural fit alongside the company’s extensive catalogue of board games to enable innovation across the globe.
Asmodee has announced the acquisition of Board Game Arena (BGA), the digital multiplayer board game platform. The move will provide BGA with high visibility among the consumer market and accelerate the digital release of Asmodee’s favourite titles. Using Board Game Arena’s easy-to-use and scalable online platform, Asmodee can make key brands like Catan, TIcket to Ride, Pandemic and more available worldwide.
Founded in 2010 by Grégory Isabelli and Emmanuel Colin, BGA has emerged as a global leader in online board games. The platform provides official online versions of more than 250 games, supported in 40 languages, to more than 5m members around the world. Within its large and regularly updated catalogue are hits from Asmodee such as Carcassonne (published by Hans Im Glück and Asmodee), Jaipur and 7 Wonders, of which more than 4m online games have been played since its release on the platform in 2018.
Since its creation, BGA has seen continuous growth, thanks to the commitment of gaming communities, registering 600% growth in 2020, a sign of the current craze for board games, whether physically or remotely. The merger will support further growth and development; the two companies have known each other for a long time, and this natural move will also allow Asmodee to speed up the availability of its key titles on the platform.
Grégory Isabelli and Emmanuel Colin, BGA cofounders, commented: “Working with Asmodee allows us to continue our massive growth, with a partner that shares our love and passion for board gaming. Asmodee fulfills a ‘sine qua non’ criteria for us: that BGA is always run by absolute board game fans whose core business is board game.”
“Our growth is based on one crucial commitment: offer the best gaming experience to consumers and bring our brands to the widest audience”, said Thomas Koegler, head of strategy at Asmodee. “Having a platform that allows players from all over the world to meet, play their favourite games together or discover new games is a natural fit alongside our amazing catalogue of board games. In the coming weeks, Skull and Splendor will be the first of a long list of Asmodee releases on the platform; we hope that players will enjoy them.”
As with other Asmodee entities, Board Game Arena will operate independently and remain free to create online versions of games from other companies. Current management will remain at its helm.
