The Devhouse Agency was represented by Justin Batoff of Batoff Associates, P.A. Journey / Growth Catalyst Partners was represented by Adam Arnett and Patrick Mock of Mayor Brown LLP

NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Fresh off of the launch of Walmart Land, Universe of Play and the production Electric Fest inside Roblox, Metaverse-leading design and innovation consultancy, Journey, today announced the acquisition of The Devhouse Agency (“Devhouse”). This new addition to Journey’s Metaverse Studio enhances the company’s metaverse, gaming, and web3 business offerings at a time of rapid-growth and increased client demand for world building capabilities and Metaverse offerings. 

The Devhouse Agency is a Dallas-based software development studio specializing in game development across a variety of platforms and industrial verticals, including gaming, NFT Utility, VR, AR, marketing and events. Founded in 2018, Devhouse’s team consists of highly-skilled and experienced Unity and Unreal engineers, 3D artists, Solidity developers, and game producers.

“The brands we work with are entering virtual worlds and launching web3 initiatives at record speed. This exciting acquisition expands our game development and engineering talent pool so we can better service our clients at a time of rapid-growth and increased demand from clients who look to Journey for an unmatched expertise,” said Cathy Hackl, Journey’s Chief Metaverse Officer, who has helped brands like Ralph Lauren, Clinique, P&G and Walmart with their Metaverse strategies and implementation. “We are seeing customers and brands realize the potential of virtual worlds and Web3, and now Devhouse will be an integral part of Journey’s mission to deliver immersive and industry-leading experiences for new and nascent customer touchpoints and journeys.”

Devhouse’s client base includes a PC and Console game for well known IP, as well as Roblox builds for major brands. 

“Our highly skilled team will aid Journey’s Metaverse Studio in scaling up its offerings, and help further support the kind of unique and forward-thinking ideas and experiences that Journey is creating across virtual, physical and digital,” said Jim Welch, Founder and CEO of The Devhouse Agency. “Our team is immensely proud of the work we’ve accomplished, and we are now thrilled to join Journey, allowing our team to continue, and substantially expand, our ability to create and execute amazing experiences in gaming, Web3 and beyond.” 

The Devhouse acquisition is the fourth that Journey has done in the last 10 months and the company will be announcing more strategic acquisitions in the near future. Journey is the agency of the futurescape and builds real products, with real technologies, to create meaningful experiences for real people – in whichever reality they choose. 

Journey’s Metaverse Studio, which is led by Hackl, offers both strategic and technical services such as game development in Roblox, Fortnite Creative, Rec Room, Core, VR Chat, Meta’s Horizon, Microsoft’s AltSpaceVR and more. The studio also specializes in custom development in Unity, Unreal, and Solidity while providing game testing quality assurance (QA), virtual concert production, motion capture and volumetric video production in multiple platforms and engines.

“Through this acquisition, Journey will be able to continue breaking ground in new worlds like never before, whether they be physical, digital or virtual,” said Andy Zimmerman, CEO of Journey. “Our capabilities are growing alongside our company’s size and influence, and we are thrilled to have The Devhouse Agency’s team joining us. They have worked on some of the most high-profile projects in the metaverse, and bring with them a one-of-a-kind expertise that is unmatched in this industry and we are proud that they are now part of our Metaverse studio.”

Devhouse has worked not only on game production, but has also helped web3 projects like Dippies and Chill Cowboys Country Club with their NFT development, games, drops and minting. 

About Journey

Journey is an innovation and design agency that enables companies to envision the futurescape, the next chapter of their end customer journey, designing, building and running 3D experiences in the physical, immersive and metaverse worlds at speed and scale. Backed by private equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners, Journey, founded in January 2022, was formed by the merger of ICRAVE, a physical design firm, Skilled Creative, a voice agency, and Future Intelligence Group, a metaverse consulting and design firm.  Marquee clients include Walmart, Clinique, Entertainment Weekly, HBO Max, JetBlue, Marquee Nightclub, STK, Warner Music Group, MoMA, Procter & Gamble, Wall Street Journal, Sloan Kettering, and other leading brands.

About The Devhouse Agency

The Devhouse Agency is an independent software development studio based in Dallas, Texas which specializes in crafting bespoke and stunning AR, VR, mobile and gaming experiences. 

About Growth Catalyst Partners

Growth Catalyst Partners is a middle market private equity firm investing in information, marketing and tech-enabled services businesses. GCP’s strategy involves targeting growth segments of industries and identifying and building market-leading companies with breakout potential. GCP partners with company founders and owners along with top executives within those industries and provides capital, proprietary deal origination and operating expertise to the management teams. GCP’s team has deep sector expertise and has led hundreds of transactions and successful investments in services businesses for over 20 years. Since the firm’s founding in 2015, GCP has completed over 75 acquisitions across its industry-leading platform companies. For more information, visit www.growthcatalystpartners.com