Trion Worlds considering IPO
Rift developer says public floatation "clearly on the horizon"
Trion Worlds, developer of the hit MMO Rift, is considering going public, Reuters reports.
CEO Lars Buttler told the site that, although the company hadn't hired any investment bankers yet, an IPO was a distinct possibility in the near future.
"As we build scale and become more profitable, [an IPO] is clearly on our horizon at some point," he said.
"We've had a lot of bankers coming to us recently. We keep all of our options open at this point. We definitely have enough substance and enough skill to be a public company at the right time."
Trion Worlds doubled its headcount to 500 this year, and has raised around $100 million in funding since 2007, with media giants Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. among the investors.
However, Buttler stressed challenging market conditions as a major hurdle to an IPO, even if the company's flagship product, Rift, is one of the few major success stories in the MMO space.
"Rift is vastly profitable," he added. "It is profitable every single week and every single month."
Trion Worlds is currently working on a development and publishing platform, codenamed Red Door, with the aim of enabling third-party companies to create premium online games.
"Our goal is to revolutionise premium games and help the industry realise its potential in the connected era," said Buttler at the time.
"Our first title Rift is just the tip of the iceberg; with Red Door we intend to catalyse significant change for the industry and unleash new creative possibilities. We want to hear from those with big bold ideas and dreams."