Thunderful

Thunderful Group is a Swedish video game holding company that develops and publishes games for PC and console platforms. In May 2024, the company divested its distribution business to restructure as a "pure-play games company". As of August 2025, Thunderful is a subsidiary of Atari SA. The company's business model is centered on three segments: publishing first-party and externally developed titles, developing first-party games based on its own IPs, and providing co-development and partner services. Revenue is generated from game sales, supplemented by platform deals, and work-for-hire arrangements.

The current iteration of Thunderful Group was formed in December 2019 through a merger of Thunderful AB and Bergsala Holding's distribution businesses. The original Thunderful entity was established in December 2017 by Bergsala Holding, Brjánn Sigurgeirsson, and Klaus Lyngeled. This initial company incorporated Sigurgeirsson's and Lyngeled's indie game studios, Image & Form and Zoink, respectively. The two founders had been close friends and collaborators, sharing testing and marketing activities for their Gothenburg-based studios. Bergsala Holding, Nintendo's distribution partner in Sweden, had previously acquired a 50% stake in Image & Form in 2011 and later in Zoink in 2014. Following a series of acquisitions of other developers and publishers, Thunderful Group underwent a significant restructuring in 2024, divesting its distribution arm, which included the long-standing Nintendo distributor Bergsala, to focus solely on game development and publishing. This strategic shift was followed by an investment from Atari SA, which became the majority shareholder in August 2025.

Over the years, Thunderful has acquired numerous studios, including Coatsink, Headup Games, Robot Teddy, and Jumpship. However, as part of its restructuring, it has also divested or closed some of these, such as Headup Games and Stage Clear Studios. The company's portfolio includes over 20 intellectual properties, most notably the SteamWorld franchise. Co-founder Brjánn Sigurgeirsson, who has a background in graphic design and programming, served as CEO until 2022. Co-founder Klaus Lyngeled, who started his career as a graphic artist, was the Chief Creative Officer. The current CEO is Martin Walfisz, founder of Massive Entertainment.

Keywords: video game development, game publishing, PC games, console games, co-development services, SteamWorld, intellectual property, Atari, Coatsink, Image & Form, Zoink, Rising Star Games, Jumpship, European gaming, Gothenburg studio, game investment, digital entertainment, third-party publishing, back catalog sales, work-for-hire