Two Point Hospital developer Two Point Studios is now a part of Sega, which announced today that it has acquired the studio after working with it as a publisher for more than two years. Sega said the acquisition is the first to come about as a direct result of Sega Europe's Searchlight program, which seeks out and supports "exciting new development talent" and games.

"We’re delighted to welcome Two Point Studios officially in to the Sega family. As a relatively new, British-based developer with a global hit already under their belts, we knew we had to move quickly on this deal because they are an extremely attractive investment proposition with a great deal of talent," Sega Europe president and chief operating officer Gary Dale said.

That's technically true—Two Point Studios was founded in 2016—but co-founders Mark Webley and Gary Carr have been working together for more than 20 years on games including Theme Hospital, Black and White, and the Fable series. Two Point Hospital, released in 2018, is a spiritual successor to the first game they worked on together, and it's exceptionally good: "A brilliant management game," we said in our 87/100 review, even without the benefit of nostalgia.

"It’s a landmark step for Two Point Studios and we’re thrilled to be joining the Sega family. We’re looking forward to executing the next phase of our plans as we continue to evolve Two Point County," Webley said.

"It’s a hugely exciting time to be a part of Two Point and we are here today thanks to the hard work, passion and dedication of our small, but amazingly talented team here in Farnham and the incredible fans that have supported us throughout and guided our continued development of Two Point Hospital."

Two Point Studios added a new co-op challenge mode to Two Point Hospital in the free Superbug Initiative update, released last month. It's also working on "several exciting unannounced projects" that will be revealed over the coming months.