Management buys out local video game developer

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 9, 2005 10:00 PM PST ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Video game developer Sammy Studios has become its own independent company in a management-led buyout. The deal was announced Monday.

The company, now named High Moon Studios, will be freer "from a cultural and creative standpoint" to develop its products, said John Rowe, president and chief operating officer.

Rowe led a private investment group that purchased High Moon Studios from its parent company, Tokyo-based Sammy Corp. He declined to reveal the purchase price, citing a confidentiality clause in the agreement.

The company will remain in Carlsbad, Rowe said Tuesday, because the city and the company's $35 million facility provide a favorable environment for its 100 game developers. The company's titles include "Darkwatch," a hybrid Western/horror game for Xbox and Sony Playstation 2 featuring a half-undead gunslinger seeking vengeance on a vampire. High Moon Studios retains the rights to Darkwatch.

"It's a very creative environment from an aesthetic and design standpoint," Rowe said. "It's colorful, it has unique lighting corresponding to the environment. North County is great because we have to literally recruit people from around the world. We have people from England and France and other parts of the United States."

"We have to compete with the San Francisco Bay area for talent, and we offer more value for the lifestyle with beaches, surfing, all the great outdoor activites," Rowe said. "The North County living environment is very attractive to a lot of people."

Other game developers in San Diego County include Sony Online Entertainment Inc., which is headquartered in Miramar. The company, a unit of Sony Corp. of America, makes the popular EverQuest online fantasy roleplaying game.

Angel Studios, a Carlsbad-based game developer, was purchased in 2003 by Take-Two Interactive Software and renamed Rockstar San Diego.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at bfikes@nctimes.com or (760) 739-6641.

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