CI Games takes €28.6M bank loan to self-publish Lords of the Fallen II
What's the deal? CI GamesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has signed a €28.6 million (≈$32 million) syndicated credit facility to finish, market, and launch Lords of the Fallen II, arranged by Erste Bank PolskaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Bank Ochrony Środowiska. Poland's export credit agency, KUKE, guarantees 80% of the loan. The facility also refinances the group's entire existing bank debt.
Why debt? The loan matures in August 2027, and the Polish studio plans to repay it mainly from the sequel's sales. Crucially, no new shares are issued, so existing shareholders keep their full stake in any upside.
What's the endgame? The financing follows CI Games ending its publishing deal with Epic Games in the spring to self-publish the title across platforms. That move freed the PC version to launch on SteamDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → alongside the Epic Games Store, and means no outside party takes a cut of revenue.
Why now? The game is slated for the first quarter of 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. A precise release date and the main marketing campaign are due in December. The Steam wishlist passed 100,000 additions in a single day after a Summer Game Fest trailer.
What could go wrong? The debt leaves recovery tied directly to launch performance. Founder and chief executive officer Marek Tymiński has committed to holding his entire stake through the loan term, saying: "I know how much potential Lords of the Fallen II has."
The signal: This is a sizeable step-up on the roughly $19 million CI Games raised from investors earlier this year, and a bet that self-publishing beats a guaranteed cut. The 2023 original sold more than 2.5 million copies and drew over 8 million players, but reaching break-even once offers no guarantee the sequel repays its loan on schedule.
Read more: archyde.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
