SOE Denver, the studio responsible for the company's collectible card games, is an obvious ally for the newly acquired studio. Indeed, the official release notes that the two studios will be positioning themselves together to tackle new projects in the near future. "The new SOE Tucson studio will work closely with SOE's Denver studio on maintaining and expanding SOE's lineup of strategy games, as well as pushing into new genres and developing new projects." Definitely interesting to see the acquisition of such a great little game company; we'll keep you posted on the new studio's plans as they are announced. Read on below the cut for the full press release.
SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES POXNORA FROM OCTOPI, LLC
Talented PoxNora Development Team To Make Up New SOE Tucson Studio
SAN DIEGO, CA & TUCSON, AZ – Jan. 19, 2009 – Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) now owns the ground-breaking, critically acclaimed PoxNora online collectible strategy game and the other key assets for future game development from Tucson-based Octopi, LLC. As part of the acquisition, members of the Octopi development team will form the core of SOE's new Tucson studio, focusing on the continuing support of PoxNora as well as working with SOE's Denver studio on new trading card and strategy game projects. The transaction closed Friday, January 16, 2009.
"Our strategy and trading card games have been successful beyond our wildest dreams," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. "Expanding with a great product like PoxNora and the outstanding development team from Octopi gives us a chance to extend our strategy game offerings and enhance the ones we already field."
"We could not be more excited about becoming part of the Sony Online Entertainment family," said Dan Kopycienski, president of Octopi. "We have always been passionate about developing unique and creative games for our customers, and now with the support of SOE, we will have the opportunity to take our products to that next level."
Based in Tucson, Arizona, Octopi, LLC. are the developers of PoxNora, a successful online game that combines aspects of traditional card games with turn-based strategy games to give players a unique game experience. Seven successful expansions provide a strong base for current success, as well as building a sturdy foundation for the future.
The new SOE Tucson studio will work closely with SOE's Denver studio on maintaining and expanding SOE's lineup of strategy games, as well as pushing into new genres and developing new projects. More information on Octopi and its titles can be found at www.octopi.com.
