Report: Activision To Buy Demonware

A registration-required report in Irish newspaper the Sunday Independent has suggested that major publisher Activision is to acquire middleware developer DemonWare, whose technology has previously been used by a variety of third party publishers. DemonWare was formed by Trinity College, Dublin graduates Dylan Collins and Sean Blanchfield in 2002, with its products primarily offering multiplayer functionality including matchmaking services. The company’s clients have included Ubisoft, THQ, Sega, Namco and Activision in games including Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Most recently, the firm provided online middleware to drive the multiplayer component of Activision's major holiday title Call of Duty 3. Overall, DemonWare is best known for its Matchmaking+ and Netcode development suites. Current DemonWare technologies include peer-to-peer and client server support, NAT/Firewall traversal, and voice communication. Neither Activision nor DemonWare have confirmed the newspaper report, which speculates that the deal could have exceeded €15 million ($19.7m) in value. A second report on Irish technology website SiliconRepublic.com suggests that Activision first made a move for the company over six months ago, but that the deal is "still not finalized". In other news related to the major publisher, Activision has been warned again by the Nasdaq stock market for failing to file its most recent earnings in time. The company indicated that the warning was expected, with the investigation into illegal stock option grant practices again being blamed for the delay.