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SOE Purchases Worlds Apart, Forms SOE-Denver
by Jason Dobson
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August 10, 2006
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Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it has acquired “key assets” of online trading card game developer Worlds Apart Productions (Star Chamber). Certain employees from Worlds Apart will form the core of the new SOE-Denver, adding to SOE's worldwide group of studios including San Diego, Seattle, Austin, and Taiwan.
Based in Denver, Colorado, Worlds Apart Productions has been building and operating online games for 10 years, currently including online CCGs like The Lord Of The Rings Online TCG, Star Trek Online CCG, and even an online CCG based on NCSoft's MMO title Auto Assault, as well as the aforementioned Star Chamber.
The company's Collect! Trade! Play! (CTP) platform is described as "a cost-effective infrastructure for the development of online collectible-object based games." It offers a modular, data-driven development and prototyping environment, as well as rapid time-to-market for full commercial releases.
Worlds Apart uses CTP as the foundation for the translation of paper trading card games to online form, as well as for the creation of original properties. The newly formed SOE-Denver's core technologies have far-reaching potential, such as the ability to integrate board or card games into existing SOE online games, as well as the creation of new games altogether.
SOE live game development teams will begin meeting with SOE-Denver to be introduced to their technology and begin exploring ways to integrate this valuable resource into SOE games. The Worlds Apart Productions brand may continue to be utilized by SOE in future releases.
"This is a way to expand SOE's business into a very attractive market that is consistently growing at a fast rate," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "With this acquisition, we've expanded the range of online games that SOE can offer, as well as offering entirely new play mechanics and activities that could be built into both current and future titles."
"The team here in Denver couldn't be more pleased to become part of the Sony family," said Scott Martins, director of development, SOE-Denver. "We're really looking forward to building on the synergies between our team's technology and design experience and SOE's properties and infrastructure."
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