By now you’ve probably seen the surprising news that Facebook is acquiring Beat Saber developer Beat Games. It’s the first time that the company behind Oculus has outright bought a VR developer, though it’s no stranger to buying up other tech firms. But could we see yet more acquisitions?
Facebook is certainly teasing as much.
In a blog post announcing the news, Facebook’s Director of Content, Mike Verdu answered some burning questions behind the acquisition. One asked if Facebook planned to acquire other studios.
“We’re exploring many ways to accelerate VR, and we think next year is going to be an incredible one of VR game launches and announcements,” Verdu wrote. “We are thrilled to have Beat Games join our team. This is just the beginning.”
It certainly sounds as if future acquisitions are on the cards, then. We first heard that Facebook was interested in acquiring game development studios in a report earlier this year. Up until now, the company has primarily partnered with third-party developers like Sanzaru Games and Ready at Dawn to publish VR titles. It’s also developed a small selection of games internally.
That said, some of its past partners, like Stormland developer Insomniac, are falling into the hands of others. Earlier this year, for example, Sony purchased Insomniac following the success of Spider-Man on PS4.
The same report that suggested Facebook was looking to buy game developers also stated the company had partnered with Ubisoft to develop Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell VR games. Rumblings since then have supported those claims, but we’re yet to see an official announcement.
What other studios would you like to see Facebook acquire? Let us know in the comments below!
