MUMBAI: Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company, has acquired the award-winning Climax Racing from Climax. The studio is of both strategic and geographic importance to BVG as it becomes the third internal studio, and the first in Europe, that BVG has added to its development capacity.

BVG currently operates development studios in Vancouver, British Columbia (Propaganda Games), and Salt Lake City, Utah (Avalanche Software). The addition of Climax Racing allows BVG to create triple-A racing titles that meet the highest standards for creativity and quality. The deal is expected to close in early October.

“The acquisition of Climax Racing aligns perfectly with our strategic and geographic goals by allowing us to both reach into new genres and new markets for creative talent. Adding Climax Racing to our creative family will provide an additional catalyst for our continued growth in the video games market,” said Buena Vista Games senior vice president and general manager Graham Hopper.

“As a premier, award-winning studio that has created some of the best racing titles of all time, Climax Racing is an ideal component of BVG’s expanding portfolio of development talent,” said Climax founder and CEO Karl Jeffery.

Climax Racing is known as a leading developer of racing games, including its critically-acclaimed work on the best-selling franchises MotoGP and ATV Offroad Fury. The studio and its products have won or been nominated for dozens of awards, including winning four IGN “Best of Show” awards at E3 2006.

Tony Beckwith, co-founder of the studio, has been named vice president and general manager of Climax Racing as it continues its creative direction under BVG. Climax Racing is based in Brighton, England, and employs more than 100 talented video game artists, programmers and designers.

“The Walt Disney Company holds one of the largest and most exciting portfolio of intellectual property in the world, and through BVG, we look forward to having access to the company’s deep resources in the video games space to continue creating remarkable interactive entertainment. This promises to be a mutually beneficial relationship and we believe that together we will make outstanding games for the next generation and beyond,” said Beckwith.