Gamebryo acquired by Korean partner

South Korean company Gamebase is to buy the assets and technology of Gamebryo and LightSpeed 3D maker Emergent, with plans to create a new US-based company led by Emergent vice president of sales David Brame.

Gamebase describes itself as a long-time strategic partner of Emergent, while the two 3D engines have been used in almost 300 titles over the last several years - including the likes of Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Civilization Revolution, and Bully.

Although recent financial results have been positive, Emergent announced in November that it had put the company's assets up for sale. The firm had been adversely affected by the closure of Australian studio Krome, with which it had just announced a partnership to merge middleware and engine teams.

"The Gamebryo 3D engine has been a flexible, transparent, dependable solution for video game developers and publishers globally and has been used to develop hundreds of titles," said JY Park, president of Gamebase.

"Our first goal is to focus on the company's roots - working closely with customers and providing excellent customer service. This is one of the key reasons why Gamebryo evolved into such a popular development engine.

"This is an exciting day for Gamebryo customers. Over the next few weeks we will be actively communicating with Gamebryo developers around the world to update them on our future plans and activities," said Brame.

"Scott Johnson, the former CEO of Emergent, has worked diligently to ensure a positive transition of ownership and has kept the best interests of the Gamebryo community at the forefront during the entire acquisition process."