Game publisher Koch Media changes name to Plaion – Gaming – News

German-Austrian game publisher Koch Media is changing its name to Plaion as part of an overall rebranding of the brand. The company is still part of the media group Embracer Group.

The name Plaion would in their own words better reflect the intended identity of the company: “To reflect the evolving nature of our business (…) we have chosen a new name that better represents who we are and what journey we are on.” The new logo must represent an ‘interactive play button’.

Opposite Gamesindustry.biz co-founder Klemens Kundratitz explains the name change; the word ‘Koch’ would be difficult for some to pronounce. Luckily he puts in a funny video exactly how you should and should not have pronounced the old name. The new name Plaion should be pronounced as ‘play on’.

The company has more than 2,000 employees and is the parent company of multiple game studios and publishers, including Deep Silver, Warhorse Studios and Flying Wild Hog. Plaion is therefore directly or indirectly responsible for franchises such as Saints Row, Borderlands, Dead Island, Payday, Mount & Blade, Metro and Shadow Warrior. Also the Dutch Vertigo Games has been under Plaion for several years now.

The former Koch Media was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. Since then, the European company has made several major acquisitions and several sub-labels have been established. In early 2018, the umbrella company, Koch Media Holding, was acquired for roughly $150 million by the Swedish Embracer Group, formerly known as THQ Nordic.

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