Foundation 9 eyes further studio acquisitions

Foundation 9's director of business developement Chris Charla has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company is still looking to acquire more development studios to add to its current roster.

The development powerhouse went on a spending spree last year, snapping up Shiny Entertainment, Pipeworks and Amaze, to add to a team that already includes The Collective, Backbone Entertainment and Digital Eclipse.

"The simple answer is yes," said Charla, when asked whether the company had further intentions to buy up development studios.

"There's no requirement that we stay in or focus on North America. We're looking all over the world for great studios. There's some great development studios over in Europe," he added.

However, Charla insisted that any acquisition would have to be right for the company, possibly filling a niche that current Foundation 9 studios don't already specialise in.

"One of the places we're looking at is in casual development," he revealed.

"It's not something we'll do until we find the right partners. We're always looking for new acquisitions but we're not trying to grow for growths sake."

"It's tough to make the numbers work sometimes with casual games, but if you can figure it out it's a really great way to try out new ideas and get titles to market quite quickly," added Charla.

The full interview with Foundation 9, where Charla discusses working on market-leading IP, managing 11 different studios and the company's ties to Hollywood, can be read here.