CityEngine Maker Procedural Acquired

The company behind 3D city building tool CityEngine has been acquired, it was announced Monday. Procedural was acquired by geographic information specialist Esri, which will integrate CityEngine into its 3D urban environment creation suite ArcGIS. According to the company, CityEngine will continue to evolve and expand as a standalone product, as well. "We are very excited to join forces with Esri," said Procedural CEO Dr. Pascal Mueller. "Many of our existing clients already use ArcGIS and a closer integration between our complementary technologies presents obvious benefits. We're looking forward to fully leveraging our R&D capabilities, growing the CityEngine business and bringing many of the innovations we've developed at Procedural to the leading GIS solution of ArcGIS." In addition to a number of urban planning clients, CityEngine has also been licensed by game developers that include Blizzard, Rockstar North, Square Enix, THQ, and Grasshopper Manufacture. The technology is also used by 3D theatrical animation companies including DreamWorks and Pixar.