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MachineGames developing under Bethesda, using id Tech 5
Mega-publisher ZeniMax Media made its acquisition of Swedish developer MachineGames official today, specifying that the studio would be working on multiplatform titles under ZeniMax's Bethesda banner. MachineGames' first unannounced project will be built using sibling studio id Software's id Tech 5 game engine. "Working with our new colleagues at id and the world class publisher, Bethesda Softworks, is a tremendous opportunity," said MachineGames CEO Jerk Gustafsso, who will serve as executive producer of the new game. Barely a year old, MachineGames has nothing to show for itself publicly, though the company was established by a gang of ex-Starbreeze founders, including Gustafsso, which is credited with critical darlings The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay (2004) / Assault on Dark Athena (2009) and The Darkness (2007). Legal documentation of the acquisition appeared to indicate that MachineGames would be re-branded "ZeniMax Sweden," but it seems the studio will retain its original name. Just two weeks ago, Zenimax made its acquisition of Shinji Mikami's Tango Gameworks official. Just this week, subsidiary Bethesda made its shipment of 5 million blatantly buggy copies of Fallout: New Vegas official -- hey, revenue's gotta come from something while these new studios get settled. [Pictured: id Software's Rage, built with id Tech 5]
Machinegames purchased by ZeniMax Media, becomes ZeniMax Sweden
ZeniMax Media -- parent company to Bethesda Softworks, Arkane Studios, id Software and, most recently, Tango Gameworks -- has been on an acquisition spree as of late. Today is no exception, as Develop uncovered business records revealing the recent purchase of Swedish developer Machinegames (ex-Starbreeze) after seeing tweets from an alleged anonymous industry insider's Twitter account. The company has seen brand renaming to "ZeniMax Sweden AB," which is way less exciting of a name than Machinegames. Little is known about the acquisition, or what (if any) games Machinegames had in development before being purchased, though Machinegames' website describes the studio as "a developer of exciting AAA titles for next-gen platforms."
