Zoo Digital exits PC, console market

British publisher Zoo Digital has announced an internal restructuring of the company, resulting in a change in name and an exit from the traditional games publishing business in favour of interactive DVD titles.

Following sluggish sales of the firm's slew of niche titles on PC, console and handheld platforms, Zoo Digital will be re-named Zoo Interactive Video and the new company plans to shift its focus entirely to the development and publishing of interactive DVD games.

Zoo has achieved significant commercial success with a number of its interactive games, including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which reached number 16 in the DVD chart last year. At the recent DVD Association Excellence Awards, Zoo scooped three awards, and the latest accolades marked the third win in three consecutive years.

A spokesperson for the company told Gamesindustry.biz that there have been thirteen redundancies as a result of the restructuring. However, former sales director Barry Hatch has acquired the remaining assets from the games publishing division for a sum of GBP 250,000, establishing Zoo Digital Publishing and hiring ten of the staff who had been made redundant.

Hatch promises "business as usual" for the newly restructured publishing business, aiming to utilise the extensive multi-format back catalogue for re-licensing and publishing in European and Asian markets.

"Itâs an exciting opportunity to focus on our strengths and continue to produce and expand our comprehensive catalogue of multi-format games," Hatch commented. "Weâve been a presence in European publishing for some time now and our separation from the ZOO group gives us the flexibility to work closer with our distributors, retailers and the rest of the industry.â

Zoo Digital Publishing is expected to announce a revised product release schedule and make further announcements on new titles shortly.