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Keywords acquires developer Hardsuit

Date Type Companies involved Size
May 11th, 2023 acquisition Keywords Studios Not disclosed
Keywords acquires developer Hardsuit

Services and software giant Keywords' latest acquisition is developer Hardsuit.

The Seattle-based studio has worked on projects such as Call of Duty and Crash Bandicoot for Activision. The company was founded back in 2015 by Andy Kipling and Russell Nelson and boasts more than 70 members of staff.

No figure has been placed on the deal.

“Hardsuit is a high-quality studio that works on some of the world’s largest franchises, and we are excited to welcome Andy, Russell and their team to Keywords," Keywords Studios CEO Bertrand Bodson (pictured) said.

"The business is a great fit for our Create service line and strengthens our existing offering for some of the strongest intellectual properties in digital entertainment. Hardsuit is our first game development studio in Seattle, growing our presence in a city home to several existing and potential clients, and gives us access to a high-quality talent pool from which to drive future growth. We are looking forward to working with the Hardsuit team and supporting the studio’s continuing growth as part of Keywords."

Hardsuit's founders Kipling and Nelson added: "We are really thrilled to be able to start the next phase of our growth as part of Keywords. As the largest player in the industry, Keywords will provide us with a strong foundation and deliver opportunities for us to do more for our clients and franchises. We believe Keywords has a very similar people-focused and tech-savvy entrepreneurial culture and are excited to get started on delivering against our future growth opportunities.”


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.