Certain Affinity, a studio that's helped out with co-development on major games like Halo Infinite and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, has been acquired by Keywords Studios.
Per GamesIndustry.biz, the acquisition, which is for an "undisclosed sum", will consist of an upfront cash purchase combined with an "earn-out component" that will be based on Certain Affinity's performance going forward.
This is a fairly standard way to do business when it comes to studio acquisitions, as is the fact that Certain Affinity will seemingly largely be left alone, with its management team and workforce of around 180 apparently remaining intact.
Certain Affinity CEO Max Hoberman says he's "thrilled to be able to provide stability and a supportive home" for Certain Affinity at what is a "most difficult time in the market".
As GI.biz points out, Certain Affinity laid off 25 of its workers back in March, so hopefully, this Keywords acquisition means that more employees' jobs won't be at risk, at least for the meantime.
For his part, Keywords CEO Bertrand Bodson says his company has "enormous respect" for Certain Affinity, and that the new acquisition will complement Keywords' "existing skills", as well as "expanding [its] presence notably in the US and Canada".
If you feel like Certain Affinity's name is familiar to you, it's probably because you remember 343 Industries (which is now Halo Studios) announcing in 2022 that Certain Affinity would be joining Halo Infinite as a co-developer.
This is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Keywords. In recent years, the company has also acquired Age of Empires developer Forgotten Empires, former Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 studio Hardsuit Labs, and porting outfit Wushu Studios.
Whether Keywords' acquisition of Certain Affinity changes anything about the studio's development process remains to be seen, although given that Keywords isn't making any personnel changes, more drastic shakeups are unlikely.
