The gaming industry has been spared the death of another studio this week thanks to Wargaming. The World of Tanks developer announced today that it has acquired Gas Powered Games, makers of the Dungeon Siege series and Age of Empires Online. Industry veteran CEO Chris Taylor and several other developers from Gas Powered Games will join Wargaming in the move and help strengthen Wargaming’s push for multiple platform expansions.

Taylor, who hoped to save Gas Powered Games by funding his latest project, Wildman, cancelled his attempts at a Kickstarter campaign earlier this week to pursue another way of keeping the developer alive. Luckily for Taylor and the devs of Gas Powered Games, he found that in Wargaming.

Wargaming Acquires Gas Powered Games

Veteran developer Chris Taylor and company to join Wargaming's global family

14th February, 2013 - Wargaming, the leading free-to-play MMO developer and publisher, today announced its agreement to acquire Seattle-based developer Gas Powered Games, the maker of memorable and critically acclaimed franchises such as Dungeon Siege, Supreme Commander and Demigod.

Wargaming will take full ownership of Gas Powered Games, bringing into its fold a contingent of veteran developers, including CEO and company founder Chris Taylor. The acquisition will further bolster Wargaming's push into multiplatform expansion, including the recent acquisition announcement of Chicago-based Day 1 Studios and MMO middleware provider Big World Pty Ltd.

"Gas Powered Games' heritage and development pedigree shows us just how valuable an addition Chris and his company will make to the Wargaming family," said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming. "Gas Powered Games has a long track record of providing incredibly engaging AAA gaming experiences and we can't wait to start working with them."

"Wargaming growth in recent years has been tremendous, and we're looking forward to joining one of the fastest growing gaming companies in the world," added Chris Taylor, CEO of Gas Powered Games. "I'm sure our experience and expertise will help us contribute even more to Wargaming's global success."

About Wargaming

Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles and employs over 1400 people across such key regions as North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, and Australia.

Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to mid-20th century warfare that will include the company's flagship armored MMO World of Tanks, launched in April 2011 and currently boasting 50 million players worldwide, the flight combat World of Warplanes, named one of the most anticipated MMOs, and the naval World of Warships, both scheduled for release in 2013.

In June 2012, Wargaming announced the Wargaming.net Service, the epicenter of the online battle gaming universe that will gather the series under a single portal - www.wargaming.net.

Official website: www.wargaming.com

About Gas Powered Games

Gas Powered Games was founded in May 1998 by acclaimed game designer and industry visionary, Chris Taylor. The founding principle for GPG was to create immersive AAA games that push the boundaries of interactive entertainment.

The company's first project, Dungeon Siege, was released in April 2002, and its sequel, Dungeon Siege II was released in August 2005. Both games were critical and commercial successes, selling in excess of 1.7 million copies. Other games in the Dungeon Siege franchise include Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony for the PSP (developed cooperatively with SuperVillian Studios) and Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition.

GPG followed the success of Dungeon Siege with Supreme Commander, a revolutionary RTS game that has been hailed by critics for its innovative gameplay, Strategic Zoom and streamlined Command & Control system. Supreme Commander received numerous Editors' Choice awards and went on to critical and commercial success.

Recent and current projects include Space Siege, Demigod, and Supreme Commander 2.

With its office in the Pacific Northwest, GPG is a short distance from Seattle, Washington, and currently employs some of the industry's best designers, programmers, writers and artists.

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