Warner Bros. buys MMO dev Turbine
You know, they did LOTR Online.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has acquired Turbine Inc., the MMO developer behind Dungeon & Dragons Online and The Lord of the Rings Online.
Turbine, which was founded in Boston in 1994, also produced Asheron's Call and its sequel. Until now it was the largest privately-held online games studio in North America.
The LOTR licence may have been what first attracted Warner Bros., as the publisher owns all other rights to games based on Tolkien's books.
"We have been looking to expand access to our online worlds to more players and more markets," said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine. "This acquisition is very exciting because it allows us to expand globally while continuing to focus on creating spectacular online games that our loyal fans and players have come to expect."
Warner Bros. just loves shopping for new friends - it snapped up LEGO Star Wars developer TT Games in 2007, bought Snowblind Studios in 2009, and purchased Rocksteady Studios, the firm behind Arkham Asylum, just a few months ago.
Read more about the deal on GamesIndustry.biz.
