Polish developer CD Projekt (The Witcher) announces the acquisition of
Metropolis Software (THEY), saying this gives them the manpower to run three AAA
game projects at once:
WARSAW, FEBRUARY 18, 2008 - CD Projekt and
Metropolis Software announced that they have signed an investment agreement,
under which CD Projekt will become the majority owner of Metropolis Software.
Combining the strengths of both companies is a very important step in
realisation of CD Projekt's strategy, which includes becoming a leading
publisher delivering high-budget, ambitious and creative projects that ready to
compete with the world's biggest productions.
To date, CD Projekt has developed one title, the hit PC role-playing game, The
Witcher. Fusing with Metropolis and dividing the CD Projekt RED team into two
units, CD Projekt now has are three development teams working on new AAA game
projects.
CD Projekt's debut game, The Witcher, has been a worldwide success. After
several years of development by dozens of people at the CD Projekt RED studio,
as well as a record budget for a Polish media product, The Witcher launched to
much critical and commercial success. To date, The Witcher has earned more than
40 awards, including prestigious awards like Best PC RPG of the Year at IGN.com,
GameSpy and the US edition of PC Gamer, as well as Gamespot's Readers' Choice
award for Best RPG. Rave reviews from fans and media have translated into
excellent sales results, as the game has sold more than 600,000 copies around
the world.
Metropolis Software has been a leading Polish game developer for years and is
the longest operating game-development studio in the country. Its catalog
includes Gorky 17 and last year's Infernal. The latest Metropolis production is
THEY, a next-generation mystery first-person shooter set on a near-future Earth
that has been ruined by war. What makes THEY unique is that it combines an
involving story with the best characteristics of action games. Thanks to the
emphasis on an engaging plot, THEY has a chance to join the small and elite
circle of FPS games whose involving story is the key element driving the player
to keep playing for hours on end. The game's world is developed on the basis of
Metropolis' new proprietary game engine, benefiting from all the latest
technologies used in video games software. The game is designed for PC and
next-gen consoles, and is scheduled for release in 2009.