EA Completes Acquisition of Developer Respawn
After announcing its plans of buying the developer of multiplayer shooter game "Titanfall" last month, Electronic Arts (EA) seems to have completed the deal much earlier than expected.
Based on the company's filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission last Dec. 4, EA officially sealed the deal involving the acquisition of Respawn last Dec. 1. The terms and details of the filed transaction indicated a $151 million worth of cash plus up to $164 million in equity via stock units for the company's employees, spread over the next four years.
Furthermore, EA will give Respawn an additional $140 million if the latter hits "certain performance milestones" for its upcoming titles leading to 2022. Meanwhile, Respawn CEO Vince Zampella shared some valuable insights on the matter through the company's official blog site. Zampella gave his assurance that "there will be no layoffs or major organization changes within Respawn."
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Moreover, he noted that it is high time that the company merged with a "global industry leader like EA," citing how they "want to compete in the future, and the challenges that face us in a rapidly changing landscape."
"EA will provide us with more resources, access to new technologies, and expertise that we can tap into to that will help us make better games, and Respawn will retain the same creative freedom and culture we've always had," the Respawn boss explained. He also stressed that they have been "talking closely" with the leaders at EA and that they share the same "values and vision for the future" where the two companies put the players' welfare first.
In addition, Zampella confirmed that he will still be in charge of the operations at Respawn and that he will now be part of the studio leadership at EA.
Apart from making the announcement of the planned acquisition last month, EA CEO Andrew Wilson also confirmed in a press release that new content will be developed soon for the "Titanfall" franchise.
