Riot Games Has Acquired Wargaming Sydney, the Company Behind World of Tanks
Riot Games, a publisher and developer of video games, has acquired Wargaming Sydney, a division of the Cyprus-based publisher Wargaming responsible for games including World of Warships and World of Tanks. Riot withheld the purchase’s cost from the public. The business will now be renamed Riot Sydney.
We are really excited to bring these talented developers and teams to Riot. The Rioters that have had the opportunity to work with members of the Sydney team are confident not only in the tech they’ve built over the years but, more importantly, in the people who’ve built it. Naz (Naresh Hirani, head of development, Riot Sydney) and the dev teams at the studio have a long history of working in ways that will complement Riot’s ability to deliver value to our players and we really look forward to collaborating with them”
-Marc Merrill (Riot Co-Founder)
After being acquired in August 2012 and continuing to operate as Wargaming Sydney, the studio was one of the biggest in Australia and primarily served as a support studio for Wargaming games. However, it also worked with other developers, including Gung Ho Online and NetEase, on games like Grandia Online. Throughout its 25-year existence, the studio’s BigWorld Technology powered over 30 international MMO games simultaneously, setting a Guinness World Record for the most people online on a single MMO server.
Riot Games is just purchasing Wargaming Sydney; the acquisition will not impact the other Wargaming companies. For its current products, Wargaming will continue to own BigWorld Technology’s gaming software architecture. While the publishing team that worked within the studio will continue to be a part of Wargaming proper, this transfer places all of the former Wargaming Sydney development employees under Riot’s management.
With the support of Riot’s Development Studios, the firm will now leverage its experience working with international development teams and developing cutting-edge game development tools and servers to further enhance League of Legends, Valorant, and other tech projects. The acquisition will surely aid in the growth of both organizations.
