'Titanfall' developer Respawn Entertainment acquired by EA
Video game publisher EA has bought Respawn Entertainment, the independent studio behind the popular first person shooter game "Titanfall 2."
The publisher acquired the developer for $455 million after outbidding South Korean publisher Nexon. The purchase comes just weeks after EA shutdown one of its studios, Visceral Games, after the production of a new "Star Wars" game did not pan out.
Respawn Entertainment already has a few projects being worked on together with EA, including its own "Star Wars" game, a virtual reality (VR) game, and a new title from the "Titanfall" franchise. According to Chief Executive Officer Vince Zampella, these projects will continue development as planned.
EA has previously partnered with Respawn Entertainment with its two "Titanfall" releases. In his statement, Zampella explained why joining EA is a good move for the company.
"While it wasn't necessary, going with EA made a lot of sense," said Zampella. "With Titanfall and Star Wars, EA has been a great development partner that supports us and doesn't interfere with our process for making games or studio culture. EA will provide us with more resources, access to new technologies, and expertise that we can tap into to that will help us make better games, and Respawn will retain the same creative freedom and culture we've always had."
Zampella also said that he will continue to run things at Respawn and will be a part of the studio leadership team at EA. He also said that there would be no major restructuring within the studio, and none of the staff would be laid off.
Although "Titanfall 2" has experienced a shrinkage in its player base, Respawn Entertainment clarified that it was not acquired by EA because it was in trouble.
Respawn Entertainment was founded by Zampella and Jason West, who were the co-founders of Infinity Ward, the studio that developed "Call of Duty." Following the development of "Modern Warfare 2," the two were terminated by owner Activision due to "breaches of contract and insubordination." More than half of Infinity Ward's staff resigned in protest, then joined the two founders at their new studio, Respawn.
