Mobile dev Neon Play bought by book publisher Hachette

Book publishing house Hachette has furthered its move into the world of games by purchasing mobile developer Neon Play.

Neon Play is the UK studio known for titles such as Paper Glider, Flick Football and Panic Traffic London, as well as games based on comedians including Dom Joly, Al Murray and Armstrong and Miller. It was founded in 2010.

Hachette previously partnered with Insight Studios to produce its first gamebook title, which was based on the developer’s New Star Soccer franchise.

The format combines text with more conventional gameplay mechanics.

Hachette said that Neon Play would continue to operate as its own business under the publisher’s umbrella, producing and marketing new titles for mobile.

CEO of the developer Oli Christie added that it would work with some of Hachette’s authors “on occasion”.

Hachette CEO Tim Hely Hutchinson, as well as Richard Kitson and Pierre de Cacqueray from the company, have subsequently joined the board of Neon Play.

“We at Hachette today see the future of publishing as continuing to be centrally about sympathetically taking the work of creative people to market, but that market will be more broadly defined in the future, with all the emphasis of digital that modern consumers expect,” said Hutchinson.

“While we love producing beautiful printed books, this wider vision is at the heart of all our plans for a vibrant and successful future. “