34BigThings buys freedom from Embracer as Valerio Di Donato takes full ownership

Carmageddon: Rogue Shift developer 34BigThings is free again. After six years as an Embracer studio, the Italian independent developer says original co-founder Valerio Di Donato has acquired full ownership of the company, and the studio will be led by Di Donato and fellow co-founder Giuseppe Enrico Franchi, with Daniel Giagnorio stepping in as chief financial officer.

This is not a subtle corporate reshuffle. The studio frames the deal as a clean break from its Embracer chapter, and both founders tie that separation to faster decisions and more control over what gets built. Franchi says independence means “absolute autonomy to shape our structure, our projects, and our development approach,” including the ability to pick and choose projects, discard what does not work, allocate production resources as they see fit, and seize external opportunities quickly without waiting for approval. For decision-makers watching the European studio ecosystem, this is a playbook question: how much creative and operational speed do you gain when you stop being an internal division of a larger parent?

To understand why this matters, you have to zoom out to the last few years of Embracer’s public arc. The source notes Embracer ballooned into a surprise game industry powerhouse, then spent the last few years laying off employees, closing and selling studios, and running through multiple restructurings. In that context, 34BigThings’ return to independence could look like another sign of upheaval at the parent level. But the studio says it is not necessarily about being “shopped” during that turbulence, and the price of the newly reacquired independence was not disclosed, so there is no way to judge whether it mirrors the kind of “shellacking” storylines that have happened elsewhere in the industry.

What we do have are incentives and execution dynamics. In Di Donato’s remarks to the studio announcement, he credits Embracer’s stewardship with helping 34BigThings grow to more than 70 employees and become an acclaimed European developer. He also highlights a more specific benefit: “This provided us with invaluable structure and stability, while offering a first-hand look at the complexities of balancing internal development with external stakeholders.” Translation into plain English: the studio learned how parent-company power, shared priorities, and stakeholder management can change how development planning works. That kind of learning can be valuable even when you later choose to leave the nest.

From a governance standpoint, the leadership lineup also signals how the studio wants to run now. Di Donato moves into full ownership and leadership. Franchi, as the other co-founder, doubles down on what independence unlocks operationally. And with a new chief financial officer, Daniel Giagnorio, the company is clearly trying to match creative autonomy with financial discipline. That pairing is important because independence does not remove risk, it just relocates it. Without a parent absorbing some shocks, studios need tight budgeting, realistic production pipelines, and credible funding paths for big releases.

And 34BigThings is already pointing to release-scale ambition. The source says the studio plans to “kick off its next phase with an absolute bang.” Later this year, it says it will announce a major title built on one of the most important, beloved, and revered intellectual properties in the world. It then lays out a schedule: another major title scheduled for 2027, followed by another groundbreaking project slated for 2028. The titles are not named in the source, but the structure of the roadmap matters for partners and capital providers because it sets expectations for development duration, resourcing, and long-range portfolio planning.

The second-order implications for boards and finance leaders are pretty direct. Parent-owned studio models can deliver stability and scale, but they also introduce layers of approval and shifting priorities. Franchi’s comments spell out the operational friction he believes independence removes: the ability to discard projects that do not work, allocate resources directly, and move faster on external opportunities. For executives at other studios under large publishers, the subtext is that autonomy is not just a creative preference. It is a speed and control lever that can affect which games ship, which get cancelled, and how quickly a team can pivot when market conditions change.

So is this a clean win for everyone involved, or just the next step in an Embracer-era shakeout? The studio itself insists the reacquisition plans were independent of any existing conversations and were motivated by growth and future direction. Either way, 34BigThings’ return to independence gives the market a clear data point: a six-year parent-child relationship can end with the original founders back in charge, more than 70 employees grown during the Embracer period, and a stated pipeline stretching into 2028. For anyone who invests in, manages, or builds games across Europe, that combination of learned stability and regained control is the real headline.