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Services empire Keywords has added yet another company to its ranks, having acquired China’s Mindwalk Studios.
The art and animation firm, based in Beijing, has assisted a range of high-profile publishers and provided assets for titles such as The Last of Us, Forza 6, The Elder Scrolls Online and Minecraft: Story Mode.
The studio will now be part of the Keywords group, after its new parent spent $5.5m on the transaction, which is expected to be completed in June 2016.
Mindwalk’s president Michael Gagnon and CEO Ashley Liu will remain with the company, as will the rest of the founding team. The move adds 150 artists to Keywords’ ranks, and expands its art operations by 30 per cent.
According to the offiicial statement, the deal will also “give Keywords access to Chinese game deveopers and publishers, and a cost efficient base for the provision of art services to clients in North America, Europe and the Far East”.
