SkyBox Labs, co-developer of Halo and Minecraft, has been acquired by NetEase Games

As Xbox continues to try to push its mammoth deal with Activision Blizzard, there are still several smaller-scale acquisitions taking place across the gaming industry. Today, January 6, the Chinese company NetEase Games has announced the purchase of the Canadian development studio SkyBox Labs.

This deal is of particular importance to the Xbox community, as SkyBox has been working on some big Xbox franchises of late, most notably as a co-developer on Halo Infinite and Mojang’s ever-popular sandbox Minecraft.

The Canadian team has also worked with Microsoft on many other projects over the years, including its Age of Empires series and the now-canceled Project Spark, which was born at the start of the Xbox One era.

Fortunately, existing development partnerships shouldn’t be affected too much by the acquisition, so we can expect SkyBox to continue working with Xbox. As VGC noted, the developer will continue to operate on its own, working closely with existing partners.

“We have built a team of talented people who are passionate and creative, and by joining NetEase Games, we will also be able to accelerate our plans to pursue new creative opportunities and enjoy access to world-class operational resources and the breadth and depth of gaming services. NetEase so we can scale faster in Canada.”

Another major game acquisition that has taken place over the past year is Sony’s purchase of Destination Bungie developer: Another deal that shouldn’t affect existing development partnerships.

What do you think of all these game acquisitions? Let us know below in the comments.

[source videogameschronicle.com]

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Ben is a fan of action, racing and straight shooters in any video game he can get his hands on. When he’s not playing, Ben spends his time listening to too much Guns N’ Roses, watching football, and probably eating somewhere.