Electronic Arts has acquired a new game developer for their publishing brand, the mobile developer Industrial Toys.
Announced yesterday by EA, the 14-man team will be joining EA's Worldwide Studios organization, which currently features the likes of Respawn Entertainment, Motive Studios, and BioWare.
Industrial Toys was founded in 2012 by ex-Bungie founder Alex Seropian, along with Tim Harris and Brent Pease. Seropian and his partners founded the developer to focus on the "touch screen market," saying in a lost interview on Joystiq that their goal was to make more hardcore games for mobile platforms.
The studio has focused primarily on the mobile gaming market, with their flagship title Midnight Star, a sci-fi first-person gallery shooter game for iOS devices released in 2015. The series has already spawned several sequels and DLC packs, including Midnight Rises and Midnight Star: Renegade.
EA Worldwide Studios Group GM and SVP Samantha Ryan was excited to announce the acquisition. "Creating breakthrough games takes passionate developers and incredible creativity, and each time we’ve worked with the Industrial Toys team, we’ve been inspired by their unique approach,” said Ryan. “We’re thrilled to have them join our studio organization, pursue new ideas together and bring amazing new games to our players.”
It is currently unknown if Industrial Toys will be working on a new IP or given an established franchise with the company at this time.
Electronic Arts has made several major acquisitions over the past year. Last year, after the closure of Visceral Games, the publisher acquired Respawn Entertainment, the developers behind the Titanfall series. It also acquired the cloud-streaming technology rights from GameFly in May of this year.
The company has also pushed forward with their Competitive Gaming Division by announcing the eMLS for FIFA 18 and a deal with ESPN and Disney XD to broadcast competitive Madden games.
The total amount of the acquisition was not disclosed publicly.
What are your thoughts on EA's new acquisition? Leave your comments below.
