Vivendi acquires Wanako Games

Vivendi Games has acquired Wanako Games, the largest game development studio in Latin America.

Wanako recently developed Assault Heroes for Xbox Live Arcade, and the two companies now intend to develop further titles for the console download market.

"Wanako exudes the commitment to quality and a passion for developing great games that we ourselves strongly believe in," said Ed Zobrist, president of Sierra Online.

"The studio has an extensive offering of valuable tools and technologies that can be leveraged across all of Sierra Online's development studios.

"The combination of Wanako's development experience, creativity and technical capabilities will contribute greatly to our presence as a leading publisher of console download online games," he added.

Wanako's next project is 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures for Xbox Live Arcade, and the company has a number of other original projects in development.

"We are very excited to join a visionary group like Sierra Online who is focused on bringing truly entertaining and innovative online games to a mass market," commented Esteban Sosnik, founder and former CEO of Wanako Games.

"In working with Sierra Online on Assault Heroes it quickly became clear that our companies shared the same core values in game development and by joining together we could develop and deliver amazing products."