Ubisoft Moves into Free-to-Play With New Acquisition

It must be shopping season for the games industry. Then again, it always seems like shopping season for Ubisoft who recently picked up Nadeo (makers of Trackmania), Massive Entertainment and Quazal.

They’re at it again with the purchase of Owlient, a Paris-based game developer focused on free-to-play and online games.

ounded in Paris in 2005 Owlient, with its 40 team members is a forerunner in creating free-to-play games. The company set itself apart for its ability to develop the expertise and technology necessary to manage and entertain an online game community.

The team at Owlient has extensive expertise in the management of online game-playing communities, and their Howrse brand has almost two million monthly active users.

Previous Ubisoft acquisitions in the online segment:

-        November 2008: acquisition of Massive Entertainment, renowned for their specialty in creating multiplayer games. Massive is collaborating on or responsible for the development of several ambitious unannounced projects.

-        October 2009: acquisition of Nadeo, creator of cult hit multiplayer driving game, TrackMania. TrackMania 2 Canyon and ManiaPlanet will be launched in 2011.

-        November 2010: acquisition of Quazal, a leader in the creation of online technical solutions. Assassin’s Creed implements Quazal technology for its multiplayer mode, which received the Game Critics Award for "Best Online Game" at E3 2010.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Ubisoft’s second quarter of fiscal 2012.

They certain are bolstering an online presence and seem to be following the trend of moving away from single player gameplay and taking it all MMO style but with the core qualities that made the games great originally.