Russian-headquartered publisher and developer 1C Company has announced that it has purchased the Cenega Distribution and Publishing Group, creating a major force for video game publishing and distribution in Eastern and Central Europe.
1C is currently one of the largest Russian games distributors, with coverage of the Russian, CIS, and Baltic states, and agreements to distribute games to Russia including
Age of Empires III in association with Ubisoft. Cenega Group, headquartered in Prague in the Czech Republic, reaches extensively into the countries of Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Nikolay Baryshikov, International Sales Director, commented: "The agreement allows our company to provide a unique solution for distributing titles in Eastern and Central Europe, which includes 18 countries and hundreds of cities. For the first time ever publishers will have an opportunity to distribute their titles through a single network that covers a vast territory and provides high-quality service."
Cenega has previously published titles such as
UFO: Aftermath, Korea: Forgotten Conflict, and
Shade: Wrath of Angels. 1C's library of games includes
Forgotten Battles, Pacific Fighters, and
IL-2 Sturmovik. The resulting company will have over 60 titles in development for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, and will include titles such as
UFO: Aftershock and
El Matador.
