Guitar Hero Publisher Purchased

This morning, Activision announced its plans to acquire RedOctane, Inc. In case you didn't already know (shame on you if that's the case), RedOctane is the company that published the amazingly popular Guitar Hero. The release says, "This acquisition will provide Activision with an early leadership position in music-based gaming, which the company expects will be one of the fastest growing genres in the coming years."

It's clear that Activision has high hopes for the Guitar Hero franchise. Not only is a wildly anticipated sequel due soon, but Ron Doornink, Director and Strategic Advisor for Activision says, "The success we are seeing today is a strong indicator that Guitar Hero and the many potential extensions, new platform exploitations and international versions appear to be somewhat transition proof." What really perked our ears up was the whole line about "many potential extensions." Sounds like Activision has lots more Guitar Hero goodness planned for the future.

As is typical of deals like this nowadays, no financial details were revealed. RedOctane will keep its office in Sunnyvale, CA, and its "key employees" will sign long-term employment contracts with Activision.

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