Swedish videogame maker bought by French competitor

Acclaimed Swedish videogame maker Massive Entertainment, developer of the popular strategy title "World In Conflict”, has been purchased by French rival Ubisoft.

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"Massive's development team places great importance on its freedom to innovate and create games of the highest quality," said Massive founder and president Martin Walfisz.

"We are fortunate to have found in Ubisoft a publisher who shares the same values and understands our mindset. I have no doubt that our future together will offer significant mutual benefit and synergy."

Massive has grown to 120 workers since it was founded in 1997 and Game Developers Research ranks it among the world's top 50 videogame studios.

Ubisoft bought Massive from Activision Blizzard for an undisclosed amount.

"We are delighted to welcome the talented team of creators at Massive into the Ubisoft family," Ubisoft executive director of worldwide production studios Christine Burgess-Quemard said in a statement released by the company’s North America office on Monday.

"Ubisoft is growing at an intense pace and our strategy is to ensure the strength of our global creative teams."

Ubisoft sales leapt 31 percent to €344 million ($439 million) in the three months ending September 30 as compared with the same period last year, according to earnings results released in late October.

The surge in sales was credited to launches of "Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway" and "SoulCaliber IV" versions for Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft XBox 360 videogame consoles along with "casual games" for Nintendo DS devices.