Rockstar acquires Indian art studio Dhruva from Starbreeze

Rockstar has purchased Indian art production studio Dhruva from Starbreeze for an undisclosed fee. 

Starbreeze spent $8.5 million to acquire Dhruva back in December 2016, but the Payday 2 maker's fortunes have diminished significantly in the months since.

The Swedish developer-publisher was left in a precarious financial situation following the lackluster launch of Overkill's The Walking Dead last year, forcing it to file for administration and prompting then chief exec Bo Andersson to leave the firm.

The company then applied for an extended reconstruction period in an attempt to find stability, but recently revealed it lacks the funds to operate for another year. 

It's a tentative situation that's resulted in Starbreeze selling off a number of assets, including the publishing rights for 10 Crowns and System Shock 3, and now Dhruva. 

Following the Rockstar deal, Dhruva will continue to work on existing client projects as part of Rockstar India. Dhruva CEO and founder Rajesh Rao will also be sticking around to help support the transition and assist Rockstar in strengthening the game development community in India.

"Dhruva Interactive has been a beacon of Indian game development for decades and we are excited to bring them into the Rockstar family," said Daniel Smith, studio manager of Rockstar India. 

"The addition of the Dhruva team to the existing talent at Rockstar India will expand the studio’s capabilities and reinforces our belief in and commitment to the local development community."