French video game giant Ubisoft Entertainment has acquired Vancouver Action Pants Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
The move gives Ubisoft a second Canadian studio. It opened its largest developmental studio in Montreal in 2004.
Founded in 2006 by Simon Andrews, Nik Palmer and Omar Al-Khafaji, Action Pants has grown to employ more than 120 staff based at its Yaletown location. The studio will be changing its name to Ubisoft Vancouver and will focus on two gaming titles, which include a sports game being developed for the Nintendo Wii.
In addition to acquiring Action Pants' intellectual property, the acquisition will give Ubisoft access to Vancouver's large pool of game development talent.
The Ubisoft acquisition comes amidst significant change in the Vancouver electronic games industry Last week, Nexon Publishing reported that it was closing its Vancouver studios and laying off its 96 staff. Walt Disney Interactive also announced job cuts at Vancouver's Propaganda Games.
Meanwhile, Electronic Arts closed its Black Box studio in downtown Vancouver and shelved plans to open a Yaletown studio. It announced it was cutting 10% of its staff worldwide.