Playstack

Playstack is an indie publisher now owned by VantageCo Limited, a subsidiary of Integrated Media Company. Its most recent release is Dicevaders, out September 30, 2026 for Switch, Switch 2, and PC.

Synthesized from 4 Yomimono stories · updated Oct 4

Playstack's ownership changed in 2026. VantageCo Limited, a subsidiary of Integrated Media Company, agreed to buy 84.5% of Playstack's shares from parent company TruFin for about 1.124 billion British pounds, roughly 24 billion yen. Integrated Media Company owns GameSpot, Metacritic, Fandom, and Fanatical. CEO and founder Harvey Elliott said the organization and operations will remain unchanged and that the publisher will continue to deliver indie games.

Before the acquisition closed, Playstack's release slate included One Move Away on May 29, 2026. Announced upcoming titles include action RPG Mortal Shell II, delivery game PACS, survival sandbox RPG Lorn Vale, and fishing game About Fishing from the developers of Arctic Eggs. At gamescom 2026, 4Gamer played an unreleased build of About Fishing, which is slated for release within the year with demo downloads reaching 72,000.

In September 2026, Playstack released Dicevaders, a spin-off of StarVaders built by developer Pengonauts. It costs 1,800 yen with a 10 percent launch discount for two weeks, and supports 10 languages. On the same day, publisher D-CELL GAMES released a 2.0 update for the rhythm adventure game UNBEATABLE. That game's first major DLC, the Jamie Paige Content Companion, arrives July 27 alongside Japanese and Simplified Chinese language support and a Switch 2 version.

Key facts

Acquisition price: VantageCo Limited agreed to buy 84.5% of Playstack shares from TruFin for about 1.124 billion British pounds, roughly 24 billion yen. ↗
Buyer: The buyer is VantageCo Limited, a subsidiary of Integrated Media Company, which owns GameSpot, Metacritic, Fandom, and Fanatical. ↗
Post-acquisition statement: CEO and founder Harvey Elliott said the company's organization and operations will remain unchanged. ↗
Upcoming titles: Announced titles include action RPG Mortal Shell II, delivery game PACS, survival sandbox RPG Lorn Vale, and fishing game About Fishing. ↗
Dicevaders release: Playstack released Dicevaders on September 30, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. ↗
Dicevaders developer: Pengonauts built Dicevaders as a spin-off of StarVaders. ↗
About Fishing demo downloads: Demo downloads for About Fishing reached 72,000. ↗
About Fishing cameo: Ben Starr appears as a silent merman colleague in About Fishing. ↗
UNBEATABLE 2.0 update: D-CELL GAMES released version 2.0 of UNBEATABLE on June 26, adding bug fixes, a retry function, and assist mode improvements. ↗
UNBEATABLE DLC and Switch 2: The Jamie Paige Content Companion DLC, Japanese and Simplified Chinese support, and a Nintendo Switch 2 version launch on July 27. ↗

Timeline

Oct 3, 2026 Dicevaders Launches For Switch, Switch 2, And PC
Sep 3, 2026 About Fishing Gamescom Build Puts Ben Starr in a Merman Suit
Jun 26, 2026 UNBEATABLE Gets Japanese Support, DLC, and Switch 2 Version on July 27
May 31, 2026 Playstack, Publisher of Balatro, Acquired for Approximately 24 Billion Yen

Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.

Facts

Announced: acquisition by VantageCo Limited for approximately 1.124 billion British pounds (roughly 24 billion yen) · 2026-05-31
Noted: Playstack's parent company TruFin announced on May 21 that it had conditionally agreed to sell 84.5% of its Playstack shares to VantageCo. · 2026-05-31
Noted: Upcoming titles from Playstack include action RPG Mortal Shell II, delivery game PACS, survival sandbox RPG Lorn Vale, and fishing game About Fishing from the developers of Arctic Eggs. · 2026-05-31
Noted: The company also released the puzzle game One Move Away on May 29. · 2026-05-31

Connections

Produces: dicevaders, unbeatable
Produces of: vantageco limited

Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/playstack. CC BY 4.0.

Claim activity

When a claim about Playstack was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.

Disputed acquisition by VantageCo Limited for approximately 1.124 billion British pounds (roughly 24 billion yen) May 31 · source

All coverage

Oct 3

Dicevaders Launches For Switch, Switch 2, And PC

Playstack released Dicevaders on September 30, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. The game costs 1,800 yen and carries a 10 percent launch discount for two weeks. Developer Pengonauts built Dicevaders as a spin-off of StarVaders, the tactical roguelike that holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam. In Dicevaders, the player is an alien commander who places units on a grid and rolls dice to raise an attack score. Matching die numbers such as pairs or triples triggers combos, and items allow rerolls or cheats on bad rolls. The roster has more than 60 unit types, 120 artifact types, and 10 commanders with different synergies. Each stage ends with pilots from StarVaders defending Earth. Supported languages total 10, including Japanese, English, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.

Sep 3

About Fishing Gamescom Build Puts Ben Starr in a Merman Suit

At gamescom 2026, 4Gamer played an unreleased build of The Water Museum's mystery adventure About Fishing. The adult protagonist works as a mermaid at a nightclub. Ben Starr appears as a silent merman colleague. The game is slated for release within the year, with demo downloads reaching 72,000.

Jun 26

UNBEATABLE Gets Japanese Support, DLC, and Switch 2 Version on July 27

Publisher D-CELL GAMES released a version 2.0 update for the rhythm adventure game UNBEATABLE on June 26, adding bug fixes, a retry function, and assist mode improvements. On July 27, the game will receive its first major DLC, "THE JAMIE PAIGE CONTENT COMPANION," which includes over 12 songs, two new characters, two new stages, and a bird-watching feature. The same day, a free update will add long-awaited Japanese and Simplified Chinese language support. A Nintendo Switch 2 version, including the DLC and language support, will also launch on July 27. UNBEATABLE is set in a world where music is illegal; players follow protagonist Beat, a band vocalist, through a story mode blending exploration and two-lane rhythm gameplay. On Steam, the game holds a "Very Positive" rating based on roughly 5,500 reviews, 92% of which are positive. The 2.0 update also makes the ending theme "WAY BACK WHEN" playable and adds three free characters to arcade mode. The game is already available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

May 31

Playstack, Publisher of Balatro, Acquired for Approximately 24 Billion Yen

Playstack, the indie game publisher behind hits like Balatro, has been acquired for about 1.124 billion British pounds (roughly 24 billion yen). The buyer is VantageCo Limited, a subsidiary of Integrated Media Company, which owns major gaming media outlets GameSpot, review aggregator Metacritic, wiki hosting service Fandom, and PC game store Fanatical. Playstack's parent company TruFin announced on May 21 that it had conditionally agreed to sell 84.5% of its Playstack shares to VantageCo. The deal is expected to close after shareholder approval. Playstack CEO and founder Harvey Elliott stated that the company's organization and operations will remain unchanged, and that it will continue to deliver high-quality indie games. Upcoming titles from Playstack include action RPG Mortal Shell II, delivery game PACS, survival sandbox RPG Lorn Vale, and fishing game About Fishing from the developers of Arctic Eggs. The company also released the puzzle game One Move Away on May 29.