Vivendi Universal Acquires Simpsons: Hit & Run Developer

Officials from Vivendi Universal Games have announced that the company has completed the purchase of Radical Entertainment, the Canadian developer of the best selling The Simpsons: Hit & Run, as well as other titles such as Hulk and The Simpsons: Road Rage. Hit & Run has been an enormous hit for Vivendi, with over 3.5 million copies sold worldwide, and one of the most enduring chart performances seen this generation. The game successfully married Grand Theft Auto gameplay with The Simpsons brand in what has been one of the few licensed games to garner positive press reviews. "The purchase of Radical Entertainment reinforces our commitment to strengthening VU Games' creative talent and internal console development capabilities," said Bruce Hack, CEO of VU Games. "Radical's focus will remain on entertainment-based console games for current and next generation platforms." Vivendi will retain Radical’s team of more than 200 developers, as well as acquire the studio’s exclusive game development technologies. Radical's founder Ian Wilkinson has been named president of Radical Entertainment and the studio will remain in Vancouver, Canada. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. "We've had tremendous success working with VU Games over the past few years, and we believe our integration will be extremely positive for the future of Radical," said Wilkinson. "VU Games recognizes and values our unique and creative work environment, as well as our commitment to developing top-selling entertainment products. We are excited to be part of VU Games' global development team."