BUENA VISTA
GAMES TO
ACQUIRE
AWARD-WINNING
CLIMAX
RACING
Addition of
UK Studio
Furthers
Buena Vista
Games’
Commitment
to Quality
and
Creativity
BURBANK,
Calif. and
LONDON —
(September
28, 2006) —
Buena Vista
Games, Inc.
(BVG), the
interactive
entertainment
affiliate of
The Walt
Disney
Company
(NYSE: DIS),
today
announced
the
acquisition
of the
award-winning
Climax
Racing from
Climax Group
Ltd. The
studio is of
both
strategic
and
geographic
importance
to BVG as it
becomes the
third
internal
studio, and
the first in
Europe, that
BVG has
added to its
development
capacity.
BVG
currently
operates
development
studios in
Vancouver,
British
Columbia
(Propaganda
Games), and
Salt Lake
City, Utah
(Avalanche
Software).
The addition
of Climax
Racing
allows BVG
to create
triple-A
racing
titles that
meet the
highest
standards
for
creativity
and quality.
Terms of the
deal are not
being
disclosed.
The deal is
expected to
close in
early
October.
“The
acquisition
of Climax
Racing
aligns
perfectly
with our
strategic
and
geographic
goals by
allowing us
to both
reach into
new genres
and new
markets for
creative
talent,”
said Graham
Hopper,
senior vice
president
and general
manager,
Buena Vista
Games.
“Adding
Climax
Racing to
our creative
family will
provide an
additional
catalyst for
our
continued
growth in
the video
games
market.”
“As a
premier,
award-winning
studio that
has created
some of the
best racing
titles of
all time,
Climax
Racing is an
ideal
component of
BVG’s
expanding
portfolio of
development
talent,”
said Karl
Jeffery,
founder and
chief
executive
officer of
Climax.
Climax
Racing is
known as a
leading
developer of
racing
games,
including
its
critically-acclaimed
work on the
best-selling
franchises
“MotoGP” and
“ATV
Offroad(R)
Fury.” The
studio and
its products
have won or
been
nominated
for dozens
of awards,
including
winning four
IGN “Best of
Show” awards
at E3 2006.
Tony
Beckwith,
co-founder
of the
studio, has
been named
vice
president
and general
manager of
Climax
Racing as it
continues
its creative
direction
under BVG.
Climax
Racing is
based in
Brighton,
England, and
employs more
than 100
talented
video game
artists,
programmers
and
designers.
“The Walt
Disney
Company
holds one of
the largest
and most
exciting
portfolios
of
intellectual
property in
the world,
and through
BVG, we look
forward to
having
access to
the
company’s
deep
resources in
the video
games space
to continue
creating
remarkable
interactive
entertainment,”
said
Beckwith.
“This
promises to
be a
mutually
beneficial
relationship
and we
believe that
together we
will make
outstanding
games for
the next
generation
and beyond.”
About Climax
Racing
Climax
Racing was
established
in early
2000, with
the goal of
becoming the
industry's
premier
vehicle game
development
house. With
carefully
managed and
rapid
growth, it
has evolved
into a three
team studio
employing
over one
hundred
people,
working for
some of the
largest
publishers
in the
business on
current and
next-generation
consoles.
Using its
proprietary
render
engine and
DYNE physics
libraries
the studio
has become
experienced
at producing
triple-A,
critically
acclaimed
titles in
very
competitive
development
times.
About Buena
Vista Games
Buena Vista
Games, Inc.
(BVG) is the
interactive
entertainment
affiliate of
The Walt
Disney
Company. BVG
develops,
publishes,
markets and
distributes
a broad
portfolio of
multi-platform
video games
and
interactive
entertainment
worldwide.
The company
also
licenses
properties
and works
directly
with
third-party
interactive
game
publishers
to bring
products for
all ages to
market. For
more
information,
please log
on to
www.bvg.com.
About Climax
Founded in
1988 by Karl
Jeffery,
Climax has
grown to
become the
world's
leading
independent
video game
developer.
At the
cutting edge
of the games
industry,
Climax
develops
technologically
advanced and
critically
acclaimed
interactive
games
software for
all major
console
platforms.
The company
works with
major
worldwide
publishers
such as
Microsoft,
SCEA, Buena
Vista Games
and THQ to
create such
hit titles
as “ATV
Offroad Fury
3,” “Sudeki”
and the
“MotoGP”
series on
Xbox, Xbox
360 and PC.
Climax is
headquartered
in
Portsmouth,
England.
Additional
information
on Climax is
available at
www.climaxgroup.com.