Major Eastern European publisher and developer 1C Company has announced the acquisition of
4х4 Hummer developer Avalon Style Entertainment, with the Unreal Engine 3-licensing offroad racing creator now renamed as 1C-Avalon.
1C Company (
Space Rangers, IL-2 Sturmovik) has been expanding notably in recent years, most recently
acquiring publisher Buka, which has worked with companies such as Ubisoft, Valve, Codemasters, and THQ to publish their product in Russian territories.
Gamasutra
also recently interviewed 1C sales director Nikolay Baryshnikov about the company's plans to get into the console space, which Avalon Style also plans to do.
Overall, the Russian developer is best known for their series of off-road racing titles, including such games as
4х4 Hummer and
4x4 UAZ. Thus far, however, it is a PC stalwart, having completed 13 projects to date.
According to the company, some unique selling points of upcoming 1C-Avalon games are the ability to "use problem-solving skills to traverse gaping mud puddles and scale massive heaps of rocks using winches, car jacks, air compressors, differential locks, and more."
"Our team, in its new status, will concentrate on developing games for both PC and popular consoles," said Vyacheslav Gordeev, Director of Avalon Style Entertainment. "By creating 1C-Avalon we will ensure tight integration and cooperation with a top, internationally known publisher."
