LinkJust in case if you don't want to visit Gamatsutra
Game and online gambling software company Playtech said Monday said it will acquire Yoyo Games Limited, developer of the popular cross-platform game dev tool GameMaker Studio. GameMaker, which comes with the Playtech acquisition, gained popularity in recent years, particularly among small-team game developers, and is the basis for games including Hotline Miami, Risk of Rain, Gunpoint, Gods Will Be Watching, Nidhogg, and Spelunky, among many others. The engine boasts over 750,000 registered game developers, according to Playtech.
[Don't Miss: Playtech responds to dev concerns]
Playtech, known for its online gambling software, said it would buy Yoyo for $16.4 million, with a possible additional $5.25 million paid out.
Playtech said the buy is meant to help the company “penetrate the casual gaming space.” The company also owns game dev studio Plamee, which employs 120 developers. GameMaker studio will help Playtech’s internal and external game development efforts, Playtech said.
The acquisition is part of a three-pronged strategy, according to Playtech: in-house game development, internal and external publishing, and game development technology.
We've reached out to Playtech to inquire how this might affect current and future GameMaker users.
As you can see Playtech have already responded
here
"Nothing will change on that front [pricing models], or any for that matter," the rep said. "We will continue to cater for and build on the loyal community GameMaker and Yoyo have developed, as well as investing more resources into improving and making the system faster, more efficient, user-friendly and appeal to a wider professional games developer audience."
Most people I see around use RPG Maker, but well, 750,000 registered users is significant enough IMO to warrant some sort of news.
ENIGMA is the closest alternative that I could find if you know someone who may be concerned, but like all things it isn't perfect.
