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RockYou buys engine firm TirNua

Social dev aiming to create "3D experiences using synchronous play"

Leading social game firm RockYou has acquired 3D engine-maker TirNua.

The news follows a turbulent period at RockYou, in which the company saw a number of layoffs and the departure of its CEO.

Neither RockYou or TirNua have revealed details of the arrangement, but are both clear that the intent is for RockYou to move beyond relatively simple, turn-based 2D games.

"TirNua's powerful technology will deliver a robust gaming experience for our players," said Lisa Marino, RockYou COO. "We believe the pace of innovation for social gaming has accelerated in the last six months and 3D experiences using synchronous play will deliver 2011's richest experiences."

TirNau's ten employees are set to merge with RockYou's 150-head team in Redwood City, California, with the new acquisition's president Greg Kearney taking on the mantle of Engineering VP at RockYou.

"RockYou is an industry leader whose scale of users will allow us to reshape social gaming faster than we could do on our own," observed Kearney.

The TirNua engine has previously been used in a lesser-known Facebook virtual world of the same name.

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Alec Meer

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A 10-year veteran of scribbling about video games, Alec primarily writes for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, but given any opportunity he will escape his keyboard and mouse ghetto to write about any and all formats.