There is a hidden principle-agent problem where the original company's intent gets distorted to align with broader corporate objectives. The total market the a

There is a hidden principle-agent problem where the original company's intent gets distorted to align with broader corporate objectives. The total market the acquired company could have penetrated never gets developed and fundamentally they decide to take an exit now for less risk and more cash early for what could have been a stronger contribution for the economy on the whole via a well-exploited niche. A mundane example would be how the developers behind Firewatch were acqui-hired by Valve. They had a well-developed following and a hotly anticipated second product, an original single-player IP, somewhat rare nowadays. Half the team dissolved to work on Steam and the rest funneled themselves into Half-Life: Alyx. The new game was delisted from development.