Vivendi after Cold Winter dev?

Publisher Vivendi-Universal Games may be seeking to continue its spate of recent developer acquisitions with the purchase of British studio Swordfish, which recently finished work on PS2 title Cold Winter for the firm.

That's according to a report in UK trade magazine MCV, which claims that the official announcement of a deal to acquire the Birmingham-based development house could be forthcoming in the next couple of days.

Formed after the closure of the Birmingham studio of ill-fated British publisher Rage three years ago, Swordfish has two completed projects to its name - World Championship Rugby for Acclaim, and Cold Winter for VUG. It is also working on a new Rugby title for Hip Interactive and on Codemasters' new Brian Lara Cricket project.

The acquisition would be the second major addition to Vivendi's internal development capacity this year, after the company bought out long-time collaborator Radical Entertainment - the Canadian studio responsible for titles such as Simpsons Hit and Run, The Hulk and Scarface - in late March.

VU Games subsidiary Blizzard has also been on the acquisition trail, buying out Swingin' Ape Studios in mid-May. Swingin' Ape, which previously worked on Metal Arms for VU, is currently developing Starcraft Ghost for Blizzard.