adminPeople Can Fly acquires Cooldown Games to expand publishing
People Can Fly has acquired Dallas-based Cooldown Games in a deal whose financial terms have not been disclosed. The move gives the Warsaw-based developer a dedicated publishing operation and adds a new business area alongside its game development work. People Can Fly plans to provide growth funding and operational support for Cooldown’s current third-party titles, as well as games scheduled to launch in 2026 and 2027.
Image credit: People Can Fly/Cooldown Games
What the acquisition means for Cooldown Games
Founded in 2024, Cooldown Games was established by industry veterans with experience at Gearbox, id Software, and Warner. Its chief executive, Steve Gibson, previously served as president of Gearbox Publishing. The company’s focus is on working with external developers and helping bring their games to players.
Under the new arrangement, Cooldown’s existing slate will receive financial and operational backing from People Can Fly. The companies have worked together before on Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, giving them an established history of collaboration. No purchase price or additional details about specific games in Cooldown’s slate have been announced.
For players, the acquisition does not by itself confirm a release date or platform for any upcoming title. Details about individual games will depend on future announcements from the companies, so release information should be checked title by title.
People Can Fly’s publishing strategy
People Can Fly said the acquisition is intended to strengthen its publishing activities and increase its participation in revenue from owned intellectual property. The company also described publishing as a way to create an additional revenue stream while keeping costs controlled.
CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski said the move happened earlier than the company had initially expected, but pointed to its trust in the Cooldown team and a plan for the publishing business to generate revenue from the outset. He also said bringing the team into the company builds on People Can Fly’s existing publishing work and could improve its ability to take games to global markets and manage commercial outcomes.
The company expects third-party publishing to generate recurring revenue and support future mergers, acquisitions, and efforts to monetise intellectual property. These are strategic aims; the companies have not provided financial forecasts or disclosed how much revenue the new division is expected to produce.
Cooldown Games leadership and previous collaboration
Gibson said joining People Can Fly gives Cooldown Games access to greater scale, resources, and long-term stability. He also described the company’s goal as supporting standout developers and distributing their games internationally. The teams intend to work together on future projects, although no additional titles have been named.
People Can Fly and Cooldown Games previously collaborated on Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition. That shared project is relevant background to the acquisition, but it does not confirm that the companies have announced a new Bulletstorm game.
How the deal fits People Can Fly’s wider plans
People Can Fly has faced development challenges in recent years. Last June, it paused work on Project Gemini and Bitfrost because of issues involving an unnamed publisher, a situation that also led to a reduction in team size.
The developer is currently working with several major partners: Xeno Point with Krafton, Project Delta with Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Gears of War: E-Day with Xbox Game Studios. The Cooldown acquisition adds a publishing component to this existing portfolio of development projects.
What to watch next
The immediate points to follow are announcements about Cooldown Games’ current third-party titles and the games targeted for 2026 and 2027. Until specific release details are shared, the acquisition is best understood as a business and publishing expansion rather than confirmation of new game launches.
Overall, People Can Fly acquires Cooldown Games to build a publishing operation, support external titles, and create another potential source of recurring revenue. The outcome will depend on the games it brings to market and how effectively the two teams work together.
