When it comes to studio acquisitions, everyone's eyes seems to be on Microsoft. Ever since it announced it would be buying out Bethesda, it has made no secret that it wishes to obtain even more studios to help bolster its library of games. It's even been heavily rumored that it's looking to make another acquisition this year. But it's not the only one buying studios, as mobile games company Zynga has recently announced that it has acquired Echtra Games.
Zynga, which is responsible for games like Words with Friends and Farmville. has certainly been doing well for itself, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, it reported massive growth, partly due to the then recent acquisitions of other studios like Peak Games and Small Giant Games, so it's no surprise to see it add another to the list.
Based in San Francisco, Echtra Games was only founded in 2016 and, to date, has released one game: last year's dungeon-crawling action-RPG Torchlight 3. While it may at first seem odd for Zynga to acquire a studio that's still fresh and doesn't have a long established track record, Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau explained that it was mainly due to the pedigree of Echtra's developers, which includes the studio's founder Max Schaefer.
Schaefer not only worked on the previous two Torchlight games but also the first two Diablo titles. Gibeau even refers to Schaefer and his team as experts in the action RPG genre and cross-platform development. In fact, Echtra's first project will involve precisely those things. According to Gibeau, it has begun collaborating with NaturalMotion (another Zynga-owned studio) to work on an as-of-yet untitled action-RPG for cross-platform play.
Gibeau adds that this acquisition will be instrumental in expanding Zynga's addressable market, as the company is aiming to bring its games and franchises to PC and consoles. While some of Zynga's previous games could technically be played on a PC via Facebook, it has yet to truly break into the PC and console markets. That is looking to change, not just with this acquisition but also with the recent announcement of Star Wars: Hunters. While it is releasing on Android and iOS devices, it was first revealed as a Nintendo Switch game and will be free-to-play later this year.
This news comes only less than a day after Epic Games' announcement that it had bought Mediatonic, the studio behind the incredibly popular online multiplayer game Fall Guys. Mediatonic has assured that the game will not be changing and will remain available on PlayStation 4 and Steam.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz