Ascaron Entertainment Announces New Studio, Expansion

German developer Ascaron Entertainment, the creator of games including Sacred, Port Royale, Anstoss, Vermeer and Patrician, and the top German PC game developer, has announced expansion plans, following the success of titles such as PC RPG Sacred, whose world-wide sales figures have now reached 1.6 million, with particular popularity in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Poland and Russia. The company, which is headquartered in Gutersloh, Germany, has announced that it is launching a new development studio in Potsdam, Germany, expanding the new office to include as many as eighty new jobs in the next three years. Ascaron's investment into this business within the next two years will be around 2 million Euros ($2.4 million). In addition, the company will launch a standalone QA company in Potsdam, Quality Four GmbH, which will work both on behalf of Ascaron and as a service provider for other developers and publishers, providing both development consultation and game testing services. Ascaron had previously announced plans to enter the console space, and is currently co-operating with an un-named third party to help facilitate this, as the company, which already has an international sales office in Birmingham, England, intends to expand further internationally.