Trophy Games has agreed to acquire French developer Playrion from Paradox Interactive for €2.25 million ($2.6m) in upfront cash, the largest acquisition in the Danish company's history.

The deal, announced September 28, 2026, is expected to close on September 30, 2026. Trophy Games may pay additional earnouts over the next three years, tied to Playrion's revenue performance.

What does Playrion bring to the deal?

Playrion, based in Paris, specialises in aviation simulation and management games. Its portfolio includes Airlines Manager and Airport Simulator: First Class. The studio employs approximately 30 people and generates around €4m ($4.6m) in annual revenue.

That revenue base gives Trophy Games immediate scale: the purchase price of €2.25m sits well below one year of Playrion's annual turnover, before any earnout payments.

How will Trophy Games use the studio?

Trophy Games said it plans to use Airport Simulator and its underlying technology as the foundation for a broader series of simulation games. Playrion will keep operating from its Paris studio while gaining access to Trophy Games' marketing, data, technology and game development capabilities.

The company has executed this playbook before. It previously acquired Airline Manager 4 and used it as the basis for a transportation management series that has since grown to six games.

"We have followed Playrion for four years and know both the games and the market well," said Trophy Games founder Søren Gleie. "What makes this acquisition particularly interesting to us is the potential to build from an already proven foundation."

"We have successfully done that before, and with Airport Simulator we see an opportunity to do it again," Gleie added. "Our ambition is to build a new series of simulation games and establish a new growth platform for Trophy Games."

What changes for Paradox?

For Paradox Interactive, the sale offloads a 30-person studio operating outside its core grand-strategy and management PC business. The Stockholm-listed publisher has been trimming its portfolio, and Playrion's mobile-focused aviation titles fit Trophy Games' free-to-play management DNA more closely.

Why the deal structure matters

The earnout structure — upfront cash plus revenue-linked payments over three years — spreads Trophy Games' risk across the integration period. If Playrion's revenue holds near its current €4m annual level, the total consideration rises; if it declines, Trophy Games' exposure stays capped near the initial €2.25m.

The acquisition follows a pattern for Trophy Games: buy a proven live-service management game, extend it into a series, and run it on the company's shared marketing and data infrastructure. Airline Manager 4 became six games. The question now is whether Airport Simulator can support a comparable expansion.

Watch the closing on September 30, 2026, and Trophy Games' next financial report for early guidance on how quickly the new simulation series enters development.