Trion Worlds acquires assets of defunct Marvel Heroes dev Gazillion

Trion Worlds has acquired the assets of Gazillion Entertainment, picking up ownership of the studio’s licenses, trademarks, patents, domains, and game library for an undisclosed sum.

The asset acquisition comes roughly half a year after Disney decided to sever ties with Gazillion Entertainment, causing the studio to end support for its Marvel Heroes game and, later, to shut down entirely.

For Trion, the move comes as the MMO developer and publisher looks to expand its publishing reach. Speaking to VentureBeat, Trion Worlds CEO Scot Hartsman explained that the studio plans to strengthen its ability to publish games created outside its own studio, and says that the tech and infrastructure gained through the Gazillion acquisition will help better support devs that sign on with Trion Worlds. 

“We want ourselves and other developers be able to make games and succeed and have sustainable life cycles,” Hartsman told VentureBeat. “Crunch and burn and lay off is unhealthy. We have tried to do things about it and we want to be a good member of the gaming ecology. We keep trying to do things to help other developers.”