Breaking News: Reliance acquires Codemasters

Well, not exactly an acquisition, but Reliance Big Entertainment (part of ADAG group and owner of Zapak Games) has acquired a 50% stake in Codemasters a leading British Gaming company.

Codemasters is a big player in European gaming circuit - in the US its content is distributed by none other than Warner Brothers. Codemasters creates games for a plethora of platforms including the leaders XBox, PSP and handheld leader Wii.

According to Zapak.com press release, Zapak will oversee the investment on behalf of Reliance. This is a great news for Zapak which is reaping the benefit of being a part of a larger group company. The development will have far reaching implications for the Indian gaming ecosystem.

Other gaming bigwigs such as IndiaGames too may now need to seek international investment and collaboration to stay afloat
We may see more international games of the PSP/X-Box/Wii family. Prices may also drop.

However, the Indian gaming scene is expected to see more action on the mobile phone based gaming rather than Gaming consoles. This fundamental difference also dampens the direct impact of international collaborations / acquisitions for Indian gaming companies.

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