Wizards of the Coast acquires Canadian developer, Tuque Games

Wizards of the Coast has acquired Tuque Games.

The Dungeon and Dragons and Magic the Gathering developer – which itself is a subsidiary of Hasbro – made the announcement yesterday, saying the acquisition will see Tuque continue the development of games for Wizards of the Coast’s “best-known brands, beginning with Dungeons & Dragons”.

Montreal-based Tuque Games was founded in 2012 by Jeff Hattem and its first title, Livelock, was released “to critical acclaim” in 2016. It currently employs 55 full-time employees.

“At Wizards, we’re continuing our commitment to creating new ways to bring our fan favourite brands to life,” said Chris Cocks, president, Wizards of the Coast. “Our unique approach of connecting fans around the tabletop as well as through our expanding portfolio of digital games is redefining what it means to be a games company.”

“Tuque is thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the Wizards of the Coast team,” added Jeff Hattem, founder of Tuque Games. “By working more closely together, we can accelerate our joint vision and bring to life new games, characters and worlds in Wizards of the Coast’s roster of franchises.”

“In Tuque, we believe we have found a unique partner that pairs the nimbleness of an indie studio with the veteran leadership and scale required to deliver complex AAA games for our largest franchises,” said David Schwartz, VP of digital publishing at Wizards of the Coast.  “We are excited to bring Jeff and the Tuque team to the Wizards of the Coast family, which we believe will allow us to continue to meet the needs of our fans while enabling us to scale our digital games development capabilities even faster.”