Foundation 9 Entertainment announced today that UK-based Sumo Digital, along with its recently established Indian development facility, will be joining the F9E family of studios. The transaction will mark F9E's first expansion outside of North America and strengthen the company's ability to deliver top titles across multiple gaming platforms and genres.
"The team at Sumo has done a tremendous job building a world class studio in a relatively short amount of time," said Jon Goldman, chairman and CEO of F9E. "By bringing them into our family of existing studios, we're now able to tap into the vast talent pool of game developers overseas and expand the company's presence in the sports and racing genres."
Since its founding in 2003, Sumo has developed a number of critically-acclaimed titles, including Virtua Tennis 3 for Xbox 360, Super Rub 'a' Dub for PLAYSTATION Network, and Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast for multiple platforms. Sumo is based in Sheffield, with an additional office in Pune, India. Sumo is currently working on a number of unannounced titles for major publishers.
"We're excited to join Foundation 9 and help expand its European presence," said Sumo CEO James North-Hearn. "We believe joining F9E will bring us tremendous opportunities for growth in the future, as well as the chance to offer many more great games to our publishing partners." As part of the deal, North-Hearn will transition into the position of Managing Director, Foundation 9 Europe, overseeing all European operations.
Sumo Digital will join F9E's current studios and brands: Amaze Entertainment, Backbone Entertainment, The Collective, Digital Eclipse, ImaginEngine, Pipeworks and Shiny Entertainment. F9E develops in multiple genres for all platforms and age groups, and has shipped more than 400 titles, including many bestsellers.
The company's studios are currently at work on more than 20 titles, including The Golden Compass, to be published by SEGA, and Godzilla: Unleashed, to be published by Atari, Inc. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.