Activision Snaps Up Beenox
The Big A now has a foothold in Canada... or at least Quebec.
Published: May 25, 2005
You may have never heard of Beenox, but we're willing to bet you've played a couple of their games. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Pitfall: The Lost Expedition, THUG 2, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkeness, The Incredibles and plenty more were all touched by the hand of Beenox -- well, the ported versions of those games, and by Beenox's Shift department, which has handled some major ports over the past couple years for a handful of different publishers.
Most of the ports are from the console to the PC/Mac (though if you played the POP: Warrior Within demo on the OPM demo disc, you played Beenox's handiwork), but the translations apparently do quite well with the critics, and that talent didn't go unnoticed by Activision, who finally decided to snap up the team for themselves, no doubt to help streamline the process of launching a single game across as many platforms as possible.
"We are excited about the talent and experience that Beenox brings to Activision," exclaimed an oddly excited Kathy Vrabeck, president of Activision Publishing. "Beenox's extensive porting background will be a key component of our console transition strategy by allowing us to focus our resources on next-generation technologies while continuing to develop games for current-generation systems. Quebec's expanding innovative talent pool will provide Activision with future growth opportunities."
"We are thrilled to partner with Activision and believe that this acquisition is a perfect fit for both companies," added the extra wealthy Dee Brown, president and CEO of Beenox. "In particular, it will allow Beenox to continue to develop high-quality titles based on well-established brands."
Beenox's next PC port will be the upcoming 7 Studios-developed Fantastic Four, and from the sounds of it, there will be plenty more ports to come. Since we know you're dying to know what else happens, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop. Yes, you.
Most of the ports are from the console to the PC/Mac (though if you played the POP: Warrior Within demo on the OPM demo disc, you played Beenox's handiwork), but the translations apparently do quite well with the critics, and that talent didn't go unnoticed by Activision, who finally decided to snap up the team for themselves, no doubt to help streamline the process of launching a single game across as many platforms as possible.
"We are excited about the talent and experience that Beenox brings to Activision," exclaimed an oddly excited Kathy Vrabeck, president of Activision Publishing. "Beenox's extensive porting background will be a key component of our console transition strategy by allowing us to focus our resources on next-generation technologies while continuing to develop games for current-generation systems. Quebec's expanding innovative talent pool will provide Activision with future growth opportunities."
"We are thrilled to partner with Activision and believe that this acquisition is a perfect fit for both companies," added the extra wealthy Dee Brown, president and CEO of Beenox. "In particular, it will allow Beenox to continue to develop high-quality titles based on well-established brands."
Beenox's next PC port will be the upcoming 7 Studios-developed Fantastic Four, and from the sounds of it, there will be plenty more ports to come. Since we know you're dying to know what else happens, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop. Yes, you.
