Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) has agreed to buy Criterion Software Group Ltd., a developer of software for creating video games, from the European division of Canon Inc., EA said Wednesday.
The deal is subject to regulators’ approval, and should close in 30 to 45 days, EA said. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal.
Criterion develops the RenderWare software suite, which enables teams of programmers to collaborate on the creation of games for PCs, and for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and next-generation gaming consoles. It was set up in 1993 as a spin-off from Canon’s European research activities, and is based in Guildford, England.
Acquiring Criterion will put EA, already a RenderWare user, in a position to release games more quickly for the next generation of consoles, the Redwood City, California, company said. By combining Criterion’s RenderWare with other EA-owned technologies, the company can build a common development framework for all its studios, it said.
Nevertheless, EA said it plans to continue to license RenderWare to other developers.
News source: ITWorld
