Wargaming UK acquires Edge Case Games Fractured Space developer will be folded into World of Tanks firm to work on new free-to-play MMO

James Batchelor UK Editor Tuesday 27th November 2018 Share this article Share

Companies in this article Wargaming.Net

Wargaming has expanded its UK presence with the acquisition of Guildford-based developer Edge Case Games.

The purchase follows just a couple of months after Wargaming UK opened its own office in Guildford. The 32 members of the Edge Case team will be relocated to this office, bringing the headcount to over 55, and will work together on an unannounced MMO.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Wargaming UK product director Sean Decker said: "We are extremely happy to be working with Edge Case Games. Wargaming and Edge Case Games have been looking for a way to partner for years. They have a great background that fits with Wargaming's future plans in new games - they have built and run free-to-play, vehicle-based MMOs, built on the Unreal tech stack."

The title Decker refers to is 2016 sci-fi multiplayer outing Fractured Space. Last month, Edge Case announced development had ceased on the game but that it will remain live for the foreseeable future. At the time, the studio claimed this was to explore development of new games to "cement [our] future", but presumably it was in preparation for this takeover.

While Decker is unable to offer any details on the project the newly-expanded Wargaming UK will be working on, Wargaming's portfolio of titles such as World of Tanks, World of Warships and World of Warplanes suggest it won't be too dissimilar to previous releases.

Decker also says Wargaming UK is "not currently looking at any other acquisitions", instead planning to grow the Guildford office further through recruitment.

"We plan to grow the team over the next year to the size needed to build and run a world class F2P MMO, while continuing to work with other Wargaming teams, such as our Sydney studio," he said.