Silicon Studio acquires Enlighten tech from Geomerics
UPDATE: Japanese firm has acquired licensing and development duties, Geomerics has "no plans to sell Enlighten IP"
The Enlighten technology used by numerous blockbuster games has changed hands after an acquisition by Silicon Studio.
The Japan-based firm has taken over worldwide rights for licensing, development and support in an agreement with the tech's creator, Geomerics.
Enlighten is a real-time global illumination tool that has been used to provide the lighting for leading games such as Star Wars: Battlefront, Eve Online and Street Fighter V.
Silicon Studio has confirmed it will not only handle licensing the tech to developers around the globe, but will also dedicate time and resources to further evolving the product. It also plans to use the technology itself in the development of 3D visualisation solutions.
The company will work with Geomerics' established customers, supporting their ongoing needs as well as attempting to accelerate sales of both Enlighten and its own technology. Silicon Studio is the creator of the Xenko engine and Yebis post-production tool.
It's unclear how this will affect Geomerics but given that Enlighten was the company's main product, the company's future could be in doubt. Geomerics is owned by chip manufacturer ARM so financially should be safe, but without it's flagship offering may be wound down in the coming months.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Geomerics has since responded to GamesIndustry.biz and clarified a few things.
"As a result of ARM's evolving priorities, we are moving engineers and resources out of our Enlighten business into other areas of the company," they said. "We are working with our Enlighten licensing partners ensure a clear path forward in terms of support and partner access to the technology during this transition stage.
"We have no plans to sell our Enlighten IP but, our partner's priorities in areas such as computer vision make it prudent to reallocate expertise. Most, if not all, of our people effected will remain with the company."
It sounds like Geomerics as a company - or, at the very least, its employees - are safe, with Silicon Studio simply taking over development and licensing duties for Enlighten.