Game engine maker Unity has said it plans to buy VFX specialist Weta Digital.

The special effects firm is being bought for $1.625 billion in cash and stock and will see the company rebranded as WetaFX. It will still be majority owned by Sir Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings fame.

“Weta Digital’s tools created unlimited possibilities for us to bring to life the worlds and creatures that originally lived in our imaginations,” Jackson said.

“Together, Unity and Weta Digital can create a pathway for any artist, from any industry, to be able to leverage these incredibly creative and powerful tools. Offering aspiring creatives access to Weta Digital’s technology will be nothing short of game changing and Unity is just the company to bring this vision to life.”

Unity CEO and president John Riccitiello added: “We are thrilled to democratize these industry-leading tools and bring the genius of Sir Peter Jackson and Weta’s amazing engineering talent to life for artists everywhere. By combining the power of Unity and Weta Digital, the tools and technology that built characters and scenes from the world’s most iconic films such as Avatar, Lord of the Rings, and Wonder Woman, will enable an entirely new generation of creators to build, transform, and distribute stunning RT3D content.”

Weta is best-known as the visual effects company that has contributed to countless films, such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar (the James Cameron one), several Marvel films starting with The Avengers, and the recent Planet of the Apes series.