SEGA Acquires Crytek Black Sea, Renames It "Creative Assembly Sofia"

In the past year alone, Crytek has failed to make payroll, it let fifteen of Warface's previous publishing staff go. Now, according to GamesIndustry.biz, the company has sold its Crytek Black Sea studio, which is located in Bulgaria, to SEGA, who plans to use it to "bolster" Creative Assembly, who you may know as the developer of the Total War series and, more recently, Halo Wars 2. Thus, the studio has been renamed "Creative Assembly Sofia."

Creative Assembly Studio Director Tim Heaton had the following to say about the announcement.

Now in our 30th year of games development, with an army of multi-million selling titles to our name and a history of world-renowned partnerships, Creative Assembly is proof of the UK games industry's potential for global success. Due to this success, we are further expanding our UK base and developing additional projects overseas, whilst pursuing top talent from across the globe to us, all in of our commitment to creating high quality, authentic gaming experiences. Our continued growth allows us to be dynamic with our future projects, constantly seeking new opportunities and reaching a wider audience with our games.

Sega Europe President and COO Jurgen Post also provided a statement.

The acquisition of Crytek Black Sea further enhances Sega Europe's development capabilities and strengthens our ability to output diverse and engaging content for our IP. Creative Assembly Sofia will be working exclusively on content for Creative Assembly and will prove an invaluable asset given the multitude of unannounced titles currently in the works. This acquisition represents another step in the right direction for the growth of our global business, underlining our commitment to add value to our existing studios and our continued for the UK games industry.

With this acquisition, Creative Assembly is adding an additional 60 people to its staff, which is now "over 500-people strong." The acquisition follows "the opening of the studio's third UK site at the end of 2016." In all, Creative Assembly's total number of employees has increased by 37% in the last year.