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Koch Media, subsidiary of Embracer Group and owner of Saints Row developer Volition, is rebranding to the name Plaion.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Plaion, as the company is now known, is making the move to “acknowledge who we truly are.” The publisher also revealed its new logo today, and spoke to GamesIndustry.biz to explain the decision behind the change, which in part is apparently an attempt to modernize Koch’s look.
“But the more we thought about it, the more we wanted to go all the way,” said Plaion’s managing director Klemens Kundratitz. “It’s more impactful, it’s got an external statement but it’s also an internal statement to our people. We’re opening this new chapter, they’re part of this, we’re a modern, growing, ambitious, global company, and it’s energizing people internally.”
Kundratitz explained that Plaion doesn’t want people to simply see the change as “window dressing,” but that it’s part of a journey. And he also has hopes that this refresh will make a bigger international impact than Koch had.
“Our name for so many years was associated with physical distribution, perhaps with us being more of a central European company–although including the UK because that was among the first three countries where we launched. But we’re perhaps not seen as a global company. And it’s sometimes difficult for some people to pronounce.”
GamesIndustry also explained that Plaion is pronounced like “Play on,” which Kundratitz hopes will evoke both the video game and film aspects of its business. The logo, which looks like the universal play symbol, was also designed to reflect both sides of the business.
Kundratitz did make a point that Plaion is a games company “first and foremost,” noting that it’s a nine-to-one ratio comparing the game to the film side. He also noted that Plaion isn’t “mutating into a different company”, and that it’s simply “following the path that we’ve been on since becoming part of Embracer Group.”
Embracer Group acquired the company in 2018, and also recently acquired the studio behind Tomb Raider and Deus Ex.
