Disney Interactive To Acquire China's Gamestar

Disney Interactive Studios has announced its intentions to acquire Shanghai and Wuhan-based former outsourcing firm and current cross-platform developer Gamestar, making it the publisher's sixth internal studio. Disney notes that the company, first formed in 2002, has grown to more than 90 people and has "a six-year track record producing high quality art and technology solutions for interactive entertainment software development." Gamasutra formerly reported on the company, noting that the company was made up of a number of senior ex-technical staff from Ubisoft Shanghai, and started by creating PC casual game projects for U.S. studio WildTangent. Since that time it has worked on titles for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox (including Midway Arcade Treasures 3 as a cross-platform multi-SKU project), as well as next-gen art projects, and was also working on a PSP game engine. Said Disney Interactive executive VP Graham Hopper, “Gamestar will play an important role in our global growth plans, providing a high quality talent pool for our expanding product portfolio. Our global expansion is aimed at achieving a new level of creative capacity, quality, and expertise in video game software development.”