Creative Assembly acquires Arena of Fate developer Crytek Black Sea

Sega has revealed Total War studio Creative Assembly has acquired Crytek Black Sea, renaming the 60-person outfit Creative Assembly Sofia.

Following some significant financial turbulence towards the end of last year, Crytek ditched a number of its studios in a bid to find stability. Crytek Black Sea—the Bulgarian developer who had been working on free-to-play MOBA Arena of Fate—was among the companies axed, which saw its former studio leads leaving to launch new indie studio Black Sea Games.

Creative Assembly has now picked up what's left of Crytek Black Sea—a move which sees the former's staff numbers rise above 500 people. Of the acquisition, CA studio director Tim Heaton said: "Now in our 30th year of games development, with an army of multi-million selling titles to our name and a history of world-renowned partnerships, Creative Assembly is proof of the UK games industry’s potential for global success.

"Due to this success, we are further expanding our UK base and developing additional projects overseas, whilst pursuing top talent from across the globe to join us, all in support of our commitment to creating high quality, authentic gaming experiences. Our continued growth allows us to be dynamic with our future projects, constantly seeking new opportunities and reaching a wider audience with our games."

Last week, Creative Assembly and Sega announced work on a Total War: Warhammer sequel had been "underway for some time", and that a new historical Total War was also in the works. What exactly Creative Assembly Sofia is or will be working on remains to be seen.