New Zealand developer/publisher Ninja Kiwi, the company behind the hugely popular Bloons franchise, has acquired Dundee’s Digital Goldfish.
Digital Goldfish has worked with Ninja Kiwi for the last several years, creating the mobile versions of Bloons and Bloons Tower Defense, as well as their own original intellectual property.
The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, was completed today and will see Digital Goldfish’s 15 staff joining forces with the 20 employees Ninja Kiwi currently employs.
Digital Goldfish will remain in Dundee, with founder David Hamilton and Barry Petrie running the studio.
“The Digital Goldfish guys have been great partners for us and have great depth of skill in mobile games development,” said Chris Harris, Co-Founder of Ninja Kiwi. “As we continue to build our mobile games reach, joining forces with the Digital Goldfish team is just awesome. Blending their mobile expertise with our IP and player base has worked really well for us to date, so this acquisition is strategically very strong for us.”
“What started as a simple license deal developed into the perfect partnership,” said Barry Petrie, Co-Founder of Digital Goldfish. “We have collaborated on several successful titles together and racked up millions of downloads in the process. This deal made absolute sense for both parties and was a natural progressive step in the relationship between the two companies. We are delighted to become part of the Ninja Kiwi family and are excited for the future as we look to bring existing and new Ninja Kiwi IP to a variety of platforms.”
Ninja Kiwi is a privately owned, Auckland-based developer and publisher of web and mobile games. Founded in 2006 by Chris Harris and Stephen Harris, Ninja Kiwi operates their own gaming website with 5 Million monthly unique visitors.
Following the acquisition, Ninja Kiwi tell us that they’re now an “indie development powerhouse committed to awesome player experiences and ready to take advantage of worldwide growth in mobile and tablet platforms.”
Digital Goldfish will operate in Dundee under the Ninja Kiwi brand.