Arkane Studios acquired by Zenimax Media

Zenimax Media, the parent company behind Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda Game Studios, has announced at QuakeCon 2010 that it has fully acquired Arkane Studios.

Arkane is the second game studio that Zenimax has recently bought up, joining legendary Doom and Quake developer id Software.

Founded in 1999, Arkane Studios is led by Harvey Smith - one of the lead designers on the seminal Deus Ex. Past titles include FPS/RPG Arx Fatalis and the PC version of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, as well as some work on BioShock 2.

Arkane is currently confirmed to be working on an unannounced project with the core Bethesda team.

“This is an exciting moment for Arkane. After 11 years of independent development, we couldn’t think of a better publishing partner,” said Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio.

“We share so many creative values. Joining the ZeniMax family will allow us to grow stronger while staying true to the games we love.”

The announcement was made at QuakeCon 2010, an annual id Software event where Zenimax also announced some upcoming iPhone games using id's Rage engine.

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