JULY 21, 2008 • Crytek GmbH acquired Black Sea Studios in Sofia Bulgaria. The latter will operate as a fully-owned owned studio of Crytek. Black Sea is best known for its co-operative multiplayer RTS, WorldShift.
Impact: The generally well-educated technology community in Eastern Europe has proven to be a boon for European and U.S. publishers looking for lower cost margins and high-quality talent. Counted alongside similar trends in Asia, such acquisitions attest to how global the video game business has become. In addition to outsourced work from primary in-house studios, these Eastern European and Asian studios can go a long way in localizing titles for their territories, as well as forwarding new models from emerging markets back to their parents.
