Rovio Entertainment, home of the Angry Birds, has acquired Futuremark Games Studio from its parent company, benchmarking software developer Futuremark. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Futuremark Games is best known for Unstoppable Gorg and Shattered Horizon. Futuremark CEO Jukka Mäkinen told Gamasutra that the rights to these and other existing Futuremark Games are not included in the sale, and that his company will continue to support them but does not have plans to develop any new titles.
The transaction leaves Futuremark free to focus on its benchmarking products, which include the 3DMark, PCMark and Powermark brands.
Less than a year ago Rovio acquired Kombo Animation Studio, part of Rovio’s ongoing strategy for rapid expansion in entertainment, publishing, animation and retail.
Rovio can probably afford this strategy. Its latest game, Angry Birds Space, exceeded 10 million downloads in the first three days of its multiplatform release, and on its first day ranked as the top iOS game in 104 countries.
Futuremark CEO Jukka Mäkinen issued a statement regarding the acquisition: “I am proud to see the potential of our talented games team recognized by Rovio. Futuremark will now focus on supporting gamers and industry with 3DMark, our professional grade benchmark which, in a new version to be released later this year, will allow unified gaming performance comparison across operating systems and form factors for the first time.”
Rovio Entertainment CEO Mikael Hed also issued a statement: “They are an incredibly talented and experienced team, and we are thrilled to have them on board. Rovio’s success is founded on the excellence of our team, and Futuremark Games Studio is going to be a superb addition.”
Related links:
Rovio – press release
http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks
Gamasutra – Futuremark retaining game rights following Rovio acquisition
Photo by Flickr user mseckington, used under Creative Commons license
