THQ Nordic has acquired Biomutant developer Experiment 101 for 75.3 million Swedish Krona ($8.9 million).

Experiment 101 was co-founded in 2015 by Goodbye Kansas Game Invest and Swedish game development veteran Stefan Ljungqvist, a former studio art director and game director at Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios.

The deal includes the development studio and all intellectual property rights to Biomutant, a post-apocalyptic action RPG scheduled to release on Xbox One, PS4, and PC in 2018.

THQ Nordic was already working with Experiment 101 as Biomutant's publisher, but the company said it couldn't ignore the "significant potential" shown by both the game and its development team.

"After the strong reception Biomutant received at its announcement at Gamescom 2017, we are excited to have been able to acquire Experiment 101 and Biomutant," explained THQ Nordic CEO, Lars Wingefors.

"Our aim is to build Biomutant into one of our major franchises. The recruitment of Stefan Ljungqvist and his talented team brings important new power to THQ Nordic.

"In addition to continue leading the Biomutant franchise, Stefan will advise on our strategy, future acquisitions and further game development projects."