German Developer Gaming Minds Formed

The majority of German developer Ascaron Entertainment (Port Royale, The Patrician)'s assets have been acquired by publisher Kalypso Media, with Ascaron veterans setting up German-based, Kalypso majority-owned Gaming Minds Studios. Ascaron entered administration in April of this year. The newly-formed developer, Gaming Minds Studios, will be based in Gutersloh, led by CEO Daniel Dumont and lead designer Kay Struve. Gaming Minds says it employs a team of 15 former Ascaron developers. Among the titles acquired from Ascaron are Port Royale, Darkstar One, On the Ball and The Patrician. The latter series will see its third installment release this summer, the company says. Ascaron's most recent title before its shutdown, Sacred 2, is not mentioned in the company's official press release as having had its franchise transferred to this new entity. German-headquartered Kalypso was founded in 2006 and opened a UK-based sister organization one year later. In addition to Gaming Minds, it also owns another German developer, Realmforge Studios. “For Kalypso, this move is not just an expansion of our own studio capacities, but will also allow us greater independence in our games development," says Kalypso global managing director Stefan Marcinek. "We currently have four new titles scheduled for release in 2010 which are being developed in our Munich and Gutersloh studios."