Vivendi catches a Swordfish

Vivendi Universal Games have announced the acquisition of British developer Swordfish Studios, the studio behind the recent first-person shooter, Cold Winter. The team will stay in its current offices in Birmingham and all 45 staff will remain, as will Managing Director, Trevor Williams, who will continue to head the studio.

"Swordfish Studios has emerged as a strong creative force with an experienced and talented group of professionals," said Bruce Hack, CEO of VU Games. "Following the integration of Radical Entertainment into the VU Games organization and Blizzard Entertainment's acquisition of Swingin' Ape Studios earlier this year, the purchase of Swordfish further builds our internal development capabilities."

Swordfish Studios has earned several awards for excellence in game development, including "Developer of the Year" for 2004 by The Independent Game Developers Association. It was also honored as the best "New U.K. Studio" at the Developer Industry Excellence Awards.