(GUYANCOURT, FRANCE) FEBRUARY 11, 2021 - Asmodee announces the acquisition of Board Game Arena (BGA), the digital multiplayer board game platform, to provide BGA with high visibility among the consumer market and accelerate the release of Asmodee’s long-awaited successes by players.
Founded in 2010 by Grégory ISABELLI and Emmanuel COLIN, BGA has emerged as the global leader in online board games. The platform provides official online versions of more than 250 games, supported on 40 languages, to more than 5 million members around the world. Within this very large and regularly updated catalog, there are hits from Asmodee such as Carcassonne (published by Hans Im Glück and Asmodee), Jaipur or 7 Wonders, of which more than 4 million 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 and has registered a 600% growth in 2020, a sign of the craze for board games, whether with family or remotely. To support its growth and pursue its development, BGA’s management team has chosen to join Asmodee. Indeed, the two companies have known each other for a long time, and this natural move will allow Asmodee to speed up the availability of its key titles on the platform.
Grégory Isabelli et Emmanuel Colin, BGA cofounders, comment: « 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 favorite games together or discover new games is a natural fit alongside our amazing catalogue of board games. Skull and Splendor will be in the coming weeks the first of a long list of Asmodee releases on the platform: we hope that players will enjoy them!”
As with other Asmodee entities, BGA will remain completely independent, and current management will remain at its helm. Pricing policies and editorial line remain unchanged, with BGA continuing, as always, to rely solely on the quality and popularity of games, offering its services to all publishers and market players.
About Asmodee
Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor with operations located in Europe, North America, and China. Asmodee’s best known titles, either published or distributed on behalf of key publishing partners, include Catan, Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Dobble/Spot it!, Star Wars: X-Wing, 7 Wonders, Dixit, Timeline, Unlock!, The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow. In some European countries, Asmodee also distributes trading card games such as Pokemon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! Asmodee has headquarters in Guyancourt, France.