Big Huge Games Acquired by 38 Studios

38 Studios has announced the acquisition of developer Big Huge Games, which was the property of publisher THQ. The acquisition means that all the tools created by the developer, its assets, technology and projects that are in development are now the property of 38 Studios. The price of the transaction has not been revealed.

Big Huge Games is set to remain in the same location in Timonium, Maryland, but it will be integrated into the structure of 38 Studios, in order to begin working on videogames based on the original intellectual property called Copernicus, a new fantasy world.

One of the big steps forward is the acquisition of the game engine that Big Huge Games has developed, which can be used to create real time strategy and even role playing games. At the moment, 38 Studios is saying that the first title based on Copernicus could be out by the end of 2010.

Tim Train, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Big Huge Games, stated that “Big Huge Games and 38 Studios share a common vision – to deliver the most engaging, compelling, original experiences possible. Joining the 38 Studios family allows us to continue translating our passions into great games.”

People like Brian Reynolds, Jason Coleman, Dave Inscore and Tim Train founded Big Huge back in 2000. The team developed one of the most interesting real time strategy series of the last year, in the form of Rise of Nations, and managed to create a very well received fantasy spin off, called Rise of Legends.

One of their last projects was the Asian Dynasties expansion for Age of Empire III. THQ laid off a lot of people at the studio as part of a restructuring process and threatened to close down the outfit if it did not find a buyer.