Home Directory Keywords Studios Keywords Studios agrees to acquire Heavy Iron, expanding game development services

Keywords Studios agrees to acquire Heavy Iron, expanding game development services

Keywords Studios, the international technical and creative services provider to the global video games industry, today announces that it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Heavy Iron Studios, a provider of specialised game development services located on the West Coast.

Founded in 1999 and acquired from THQ Inc. in 2009 by Lyle Hall, a 30-year industry veteran, Heavy Iron is based in Los Angeles, California, where its team of 43 developers provides full game development, co-development, live operations and porting services for the video games industry.

Renowned as a high-quality studio, Heavy Iron has recently worked on Marvel’s Avengers with Crystal Dynamics and the Call of Duty franchise with Activision, as well as multiple ports and remasters, including the full series of Disney Infinity games.

Primarily focused on high-end console and PC games, Heavy Iron’s specialty is technical expertise across multiple proprietary engine technologies and it has strong development experience across all major platforms.

Andrew Day, CEO of Keywords Studios, said: “We welcome the extremely experienced and talented Heavy Iron team to the Keywords family. The addition of Heavy Iron to the Group further strengthens and scales our Game Development service line.

“By bringing a new base on the West Coast, it will provide access to many of the world’s leading game companies and the local talent pool from where we can expand our activities in the region and build upon our existing presence in Audio and Localization.”

“Now our largest service line, Game Development continues to grow strongly with all our studios hiring.

“We look forward to Lyle and his terrific team joining us and supporting Heavy Iron’s continued growth from their strong position.

“This marks our third acquisition since our recent placing and we have a healthy pipeline of acquisition opportunities which we are actively reviewing and advancing.”

Lyle Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Heavy Iron, added: “We are thrilled to be joining the Keywords Studios family and look ahead to sustained growth. Keywords’ leading position in the video games industry, its breadth of services, and its geographical reach will strengthen our ability to continue providing outstanding service and support to our partners.

“We also look forward to collaborating with other members of the Group in offering wider capabilities to all our clients.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Day today also commended the work of Keywords staff around the world when announcing the Group’s half-year results for the six months to June 2020.

The results saw H1 revenue grow 13.3% to €173.5m, despite COVID-19 disruptions.

“The resilience of our business continues to shine through as we delivered growth despite the restricted use of our 60+ studios around the world, recruiting and training challenges, and some short-term disruption to content flowing into the business,” said Andrew.

“The resolve, continued passion and professionalism of Keywordians around the globe to do the best we can for each and every project entrusted to us helps ensure we are the global supplier of choice to the industry.

“We are incredibly proud of the contribution we make to creating, adapting and supporting the majority of the world’s leading video games.”

22/09/2020

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