The New York-based venture capital firm Insight Ventures has purchased a majority stake in Jagex, the online game studio behind the long-running MMO Runescape, reports Develop.
This acquisition marks a noted organizational shift for Jagex, as it moves control of the Cambridge-based developer from the UK into the United States.
As part of the deal, Jagex has agreed to pay off £2.5 million ($3.8 million) in pending expenses, and it will use its latest investment from Insight Ventures to "accelerate" its upcoming product launches.
Insight Ventures previously acquired 35 percent of Jagex in 2005, and in February 2011 the firm further invested in the company to bolster its publishing capabilities.
Develop reports that in the 12 months ending March 2011, Jagex revenues reached £45.3 million ($69.8 million), while profits for the fiscal year hit £6.7 million ($10.3 million) after the studio heavily invested in several upcoming projects.
In March 2011, the developer announced a partnership with toymaker Hasbro to create an online game based on the Transformers license, due to launch later this year.
indeed.... a quick google taught me it is around the 150 million players with about 15 million of them being active. which is quite an achievement, even for a free game.
now let us hope they keep the companies structure intact and don't waste quality by accelerating the release cycles.
Agreed, I had been an active player for 5 years, and witnessed the many changes the game had gone through.
I just hope that the new takeover will continue managing Runescape as it had been, as a weekly update for a game that size is quite applaudable.
And also, may Insight Ventures not overlook the core value of what a game is. There was a period of time when Jagex was focused on generating profit due to the direction of a new CEO, Geoff Iddison, and that year was filled with all kind of advertising encouraging players to sign up for membership. Suffice to speak, it didn't went well, and the game saw multiple updates that were broken and unnecessary.
now let us hope they keep the companies structure intact and don't waste quality by accelerating the release cycles.
Agreed, I had been an active player for 5 years, and witnessed the many changes the game had gone through.
I just hope that the new takeover will continue managing Runescape as it had been, as a weekly update for a game that size is quite applaudable.
And also, may Insight Ventures not overlook the core value of what a game is. There was a period of time when Jagex was focused on generating profit due to the direction of a new CEO, Geoff Iddison, and that year was filled with all kind of advertising encouraging players to sign up for membership. Suffice to speak, it didn't went well, and the game saw multiple updates that were broken and unnecessary.
May history not repeat itself again.