Duesseldorf, January 13, 2022 – astragon Entertainment GmbH is pleased to announce that Team17Group plc, a global games label, creative partner and developer of independent (“indie”) premium video games and publisher, creative partner and developer of educational entertainment (“edutainment”) apps for children, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire astragon Entertainment GmbH for an initial cash consideration payable of €[75] million (£[63] million), with a further consideration of up to €[25] million (£[20] million).

Acquisition rationale & highlights

The Acquisition of astragon is in line with the Group’s existing growth strategy and, in the opinion of the directors of the Company, is expected to bring a number of benefits to the Group, including:

•    Enables Team17 to enter a new and complementary simulation game category, further strengthening Team17’s position as a provider of games entertainment to a broader audience.

•    Brings a strong back catalogue of evergreen owned franchises and IP with more than 20 games developed over the last 10 years and a solid pipeline of products in development.

•    Supported by Team17’s strategic partnerships, combined with consistent growth and commercialisation experience, astragon has the potential to build on its existing foundations and accelerate its current growth trajectory to achieve its ambition to become the global number one simulation portfolio brand for gaming.

•    The Acquisition accelerates Team17’s entry into content offering to consumers in the high-quality simulation space which the Group believes the demand for this kind of non-violent and cooperative entertainment games has accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

•    The Acquisition brings a specialist talented team to Team17, who will continue to operate and function as an independent vertical within the enlarged Group whilst also delivering cross collaboration opportunities given the core focus on creating and publishing games within their respective genre/fields.

•    The combination of both Team17 and astragon creates exciting commercial opportunities with a number of brands from other industries and media partners.

•    astragon is profitable and has demonstrated consistent profit growth of 45% EBITDA CAGR from 2017A – 2020A driven by strong organic revenue growth of 18% CAGR from 2017A – 2020A, which was generated from diversified revenue streams from its expertise in development, publishing and licensing. Audited results show astragon generated c. €26 million of revenue and €5.7 million of EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2020 and had audited net assets of approximately €13.8 million as at 31 December 2020.

Julia Pfiffer and Tim Schmitz, CEOs of astragon Entertainment GmbH, commented:

“Team17 is the perfect home for astragon Entertainment GmbH as we enter into this exciting new chapter. From the first day we felt that Team17 shares the same vision for our games and understands our target group. Our goal is to become the number one brand in the field of ‘working’ simulation games. Collaborating with Team17 will enable and help astragon  to evolve and focus on this strategy. We look forward to the possibilities that are opened up by working with what we believe to be a great partner to deliver our ambitions.”

Debbie Bestwick MBE, CEO of Team17, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome the astragon team into Team17, and believe we are joining forces with one of the leading experts in the simulation games space. They have decades of game creation and publishing experience, have built an outstanding and highly devoted community and have developed an outstanding portfolio of owned IP across this genre.“

“At Team17, we have always strived to build, develop and publish great content for the widest audience possible.  With the addition of StoryToys and the expansion of our Games Label, which includes the recently acquired USA based ‘The Label’ and now astragon, we have significantly expanded Team17’s appeal to the widest ever cross section of gamers, spanning multiple genres and age groups.”

“We look forward to working closely with astragon’s joint CEOs Julia and Tim and their whole team who share our ambitions to grow their own IP titles on the path to developing a leading global simulation portfolio brand as part of the Team17 family.”

Source: astragon

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With Bus Simulator 21, bus and simulation fans can look forward to the largest bus fleet in the history of the popular Bus Simulator game series! astragon Entertainment and stillalive studios are happy to announce that players will be able to choose from a diverse selection of 30 officially licensed buses by 10 world-famous brands and manufacturers!

The official Bus Simulator 21 – Brands Showcase Trailer is available here:

Bus Simulator 21

• 10 world-famous brands: Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Scania, BYD, Alexander Dennis, Blue Bird, Grande West, Setra, IVECO BUS and MAN
• 30 officially licensed bus models – incl. city buses, articulated buses, electric buses and a double decker
• Two huge maps – US and European setting
• Numerous new, revised and extended features
• Improved open world approach
• Co-op multiplayer mode
• Bus Simulator 21 will be released on September 07, 2021 for PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One and also be playable on the new console generation

On two huge maps, Bus Simulator 21 offers players the opportunity to set up their own bus company either in the metropolis “Angel Shores”, which is inspired by a large US city, or in the fictional European city “Seaside Valley”. Whether alone in single player mode or together with friends in the cooperative multiplayer mode, players will get the opportunity to prove their skills as a bus driver and lead their company to success.

During the course of the game, players can choose from a total of 30 officially licensed bus models by 10 world-famous brands – including city buses, articulated buses, electric buses and a double-decker.

Overview of the included brands and bus models:

Alexander Dennis Ltd.:

• Enviro200 (city bus)
• Enviro500 (double decker)

Blue Bird:

• SIGMA 12m (city bus)

BYD:

• BYD eBus 12m (electric bus)
• BYD eBus 18m (articulated electric bus)

IVECO BUS:

• IVECO BUS Urbanway 12m (city bus)
• IVECO BUS Urbanway 18m (articulated bus)

Grande West:

• Vicinity 30ft (city bus)
• Vicinity 35ft CNG (city bus)

MAN:

• Lion’s City (city bus)
• Lion’s City CNG (articulated bus)
• Lion’s City city bus (city bus)
• Lion’s City G (articulated bus)
• Lion’s City L (city bus)
• Lion’s City M (city bus)
• Lion’s City 18 (articulated bus)

Mercedes-Benz:

• Citaro (city bus)
• Citaro K (city bus)
• Citaro G (articulated bus)
• CapaCity (articulated bus)
• CapaCity L (articulated bus)
• eCitaro (electric bus)
• eCitaro G (articulated electric bus)

Scania:

• Citywide LF 12m (electric bus)

Setra:

• Setra S 412 UL (interurban bus)
• Setra S 416 LE business (interurban bus)
• Setra S 417 UL business (interurban bus)
• Setra S 418 LE business (interurban bus)

Volvo:

• 7900 Electric
• 7900 Electric (articulated bus)

In addition to the large number of lovingly reproduced bus models, players can also look forward to numerous new and revised features, various options for customizing their buses, and an even more open-world approach with more freedom than ever before – making Bus Simulator 21 the most extensive bus driving experience in the history of the popular game series!

Bus Simulator 21 will be released on September 07, 2021 for 34.99 EUR / 34.99 USD / 29.99 GBP (RSP) on PC as well as for 49.99 EUR / 49.99 USD / 44.99 GBP (RSP) on PlayStation^®4 and Xbox One and will also be playable on the newest console generation.

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Let’s begin with the Scania Citywide LF 12m which is definitely the perfect fit for the streets of Angel Shores and Seaside Valley, our two maps in Bus Simulator 21. Silent, effortless, emissionfree – can it get any greater?

Oh yes, it can! In addition, the Scania Citywide 14,8m will also be part of Bus Simulator 21! It will be added to the game for free (yes, FREE!) as part of the Day One Patch on all platforms. Make sure to download the Day One Patch right at launch to enjoy this beauty of a bus!

Bus Simulator 21 – Scania Trailer:

Steam

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On the Angel Shores map, passengers can be transported by zero-emission electric-engine buses.

Volvo 7900 Electric with a total length of 39,37 feet (12 m) and a height of 10,76 feet (3,28 m), offering room for up to 95 passengers.

Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated,  is second model, you can transport even more passengers: 150 in total! With a height of 10,89 feet (3,32 m) and a length of 61,35 feet (18,7 m), it’s slightly taller and much longer than its non-articulated counterpart.

Volvo trailer

Bus Simulator 21 releases September 7, 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – and is fully playable on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

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Highlander Park, Saint Antony, Baytree, Lakeside View, Oakwood, Coyote Bush, Copperpot… and more! Bus Simulator 21 offers a variety of unique setpieces, ready to be discovered. Explore these new districts in Angel Shores and visit our new San Francisco-inspired map in Bus Simulator 21, coming to PC and consoles in 2021!

What you can expect from Bus Simulator 21

astragon Entertainment and stillalive Studios are working on the successor of the popular Bus Simulator 18 for PC as well as Bus Simulator on consoles. Bus Simulator 21 is coming to PC and consoles in 2021. The possibilities to make the game compatible with the upcoming generation of consoles are currently still being explored.

With Bus Simulator 21 players can be looking forward to the most comprehensive part of the popular game series to date, with an impressive number of officially licensed and faithfully modeled buses by world-famous manufacturers such as Alexander Dennis as well as numerous additional globally renowned brands, which will be revealed at a later point of time. Bus Simulator 21 will not only offer the most modern vehicle fleet, but also introduce a double-decker and electric buses for the first time in the history of the Bus Simulator game series!

With the help of this huge selection of buses, players can then start driving on two huge maps: next to a reworked version of the predecessor’s European based city “Seaside Valley” (including its official map extension), Bus Simulator 21 will also offer a brand-new US-American setting – the city of “Angel Shores”, which finds its inspiration in the San Francisco Bay Area. Regardless if players will make their rounds within the industrial district, the peripheral areas, downtown or lively Chinatown, along the waterside promenade, through the surrounding hills or in the business park area – thanks to the new and even freer open-world approach of Bus Simulator 21, players can be looking forward to experiencing the exciting everyday life of a bus driver like never before!

Just like its predecessors, Bus Simulator 21 will once more offer a cooperative multiplayer mode, so that players will be able to drive the lines of their self-created route network together with friends and build-up their team’s joint public transport empire. The game’s sophisticated management systems will offer even more freedom, numerous new and expanded features and, for the first time, the option of setting up detailed timetables for your own bus fleet. If a player prefers to simply drive instead of taking care of the micromanagement of his local transport company down to the smallest detail, the intelligent AI will of course offer pure bus driving enthusiasts the option of having the planning tasks carried out automatically by the game.

The prospective bus driver in Bus Simulator 21 is again supported by Mira Tannhauser, the beloved virtual mentor first known from Bus Simulator 18. In her unique and charming way, Mira will not only gently introduce the players to the world of public transport, but will also guide them through the numerous exciting missions of the extensive campaigns on the Seaside Valley and Angel Shores maps of the game. Next to the campaigns, Bus Simulator 21 will come with numerous random events and side tasks as well as a sandbox mode where players are free to do what they want whenever they want and develop their individual bus empire completely according to their needs. Bus lovers and simulation enthusiasts can therefore be looking forward to the most extensive bus driving experience in the history of the popular game series!

Bus Simulator 21 will be released in 2021 on PC and consoles.

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