Black Forest Games has spun out of THQ Nordic through a management buyout and is co-founding Third Signal, an independent studio group focused on smaller teams and premium PC and console games.

The move gives the studio a return to ownership and creative independence after nine years under THQ Nordic and Embracer; CEO Andreas Tobler said the aim is to help developer-led teams keep creating and pursue original ideas.

Studio leaders Adrian Goersch and Andreas Speer said they are ready to shape Black Forest Games’ future as owners again, with Goersch noting that the buyout had been planned because Embracer’s strategy no longer suited the studio.

Based in Offenburg, Germany, Black Forest Games was acquired by THQ Nordic in 2017, and the companies say they will continue collaborating on game-development projects.

The studio now has about 50 employees, down from more than 110 at its peak, is working on a new project, and has not disclosed the buyout’s financial terms.

The studio lost roughly 50 staff in 2024 amid Embracer’s restructuring.

Best known for remaking the first two Destroy All Humans games, Black Forest Games most recently released Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2022, followed by a last-generation console port the next year.

Black Forest Games had also been developing a game based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic The Last Ronin, but that version was halted and the project was revived with a new version in development at PlatinumGames.

Third Signal expects more studios to join, though it has not disclosed their identities.

The studio’s recent work has largely revisited franchises created by others, making independence a possible opening for original projects, though creative freedom alone does not guarantee success.

The move also points to specialist mid-sized teams as a potentially viable model for making commercially significant games.