SYDNEY, Australia, February 25, 2010 \u2013 Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group announced today the acquisition of a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, a privately held developer of interactive entertainment targeted at teens and adults, continuing Warner Bros.\u2019 pattern as one of the industry\u2019s fastest growing games publishers.<\/p>\n
\u201cRocksteady demonstrated its professionalism and extraordinary development abilities with Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/em>,\u201d said Kevin Tsujihara, president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. \u201cThis arrangement is a great strategic fit and we are very pleased to solidify our relationship with this talented development team.\u201d<\/p>\n Founded in 2004 in London, England, Rocksteady specializes in developing action-adventure video games, including Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/em>, one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2009. The title has enjoyed robust sales, shipping over three million units worldwide, and has garnered numerous industry awards.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud to strengthen our association with WBIE, a world class publisher that we have enjoyed working with since we began developing Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/em>,\u201d said Jamie Walker, studio director, Rocksteady Studios. Sefton Hill, games director, added, \u201cThe Rocksteady team is very much looking forward to creating more great games based on widely recognized Warner Bros. brands like Batman<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Warner Bros. continues to grow its games business through key acquisitions, building internal development capabilities, leveraging its global video distribution infrastructure, and focusing on developing major games franchises such as Batman<\/em>, Mortal Kombat<\/em>, The Lord of the Rings<\/em> and LEGO<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the successful release of Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/em>, a franchise that is a key focus for Warner Bros., Rocksteady has proven that they have the expertise to create hit games with mass appeal,\u201d said Martin Tremblay, president, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. \u201cWe are currently working with Rocksteady on the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/em> and look forward to bringing the continuation of the franchise to fans worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to be deepening our relationship with London-based Rocksteady Studios, one of the UK’s most respected games developers and 2009 recipient of the VGA\u2019s coveted \u2018studio of the year\u2019 award,\u201d said Josh Berger, president and managing director, Warner Bros. UK. \u201cRocksteady clearly has the talent, expertise and technology to make great games and we are fortunate to continue working closely with them as we further expand our games portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2007, Warner Bros. acquired TT Games, developer of the hit LEGO<\/em>-based game franchises, including LEGO Star Wars<\/em>, LEGO Indiana Jones<\/em> and LEGO Batman<\/em>, which have wide appeal with players of all ages. In early 2009, Warner Bros. acquired Snowblind Studios to develop its The Lord of the Rings<\/em> games franchise, with the first title expected to be released in 2011. Most recently, Warner Bros. purchased the primary assets of Midway Games. Midway published the Mortal Kombat<\/em> franchise, which has sold over 26 million units worldwide, and owned a robust IP catalogue and broadly applicable game engine technology. As part of the transaction, Warner Bros. acquired two talented development studios to focus on the Mortal Kombat<\/em> franchise as well as other key properties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SYDNEY, Australia, February 25, 2010 \u2013 Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group announced today the acquisition of a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, a privately held developer of interactive entertainment targeted at teens and adults, continuing Warner Bros.\u2019 pattern as one of the industry\u2019s fastest growing games publishers. \u201cRocksteady demonstrated its professionalism and extraordinary development abilities<\/p>\n