Google, the search engine company owned by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), has acquired Austin, Texas-based Owlchemy Labs.
Owlchemy Labs is one of the most successful virtual reality game studios. The company created award-winning games like Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality.
“Together, we’ll be working to create engaging, immersive games and developing new interaction models across many different platforms to continue bringing the best VR experiences to life,” Relja Markovic, engineering director of VR and AR at Google, said in a blog post.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In a statement announcing the acquisition, Owlchemy Labs said that will continue to create high-quality VR games for platforms like the HTC Vive, Oculus Touch, and PlayStation VR.
“We both believe that VR is the most accessible computing platform and that there’s a ton of work to be done, especially with regards to natural and intuitive interactions. Together with Google, with which we share an incredible overlap in vision, we’re free to pursue raw creation and sprint toward interesting problems in these early days of VR,” Owlchemy Labs said.
Founded in 2010 by Alex Schwartz, Owlchemy Labs is best known for its VR game Job Simulator. The game, the studio published for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4, lets players participate in simulated jobs. The company’s other games include Snuggle Truck, supernatural log-chopper Jack Lumber, VR skydiving game Aaaaaculus!, mobile VR skydiving game Caaaaardboard!, and quirky choose-your-own-adventure Dyscourse.
In August 2016, Owlchemy Labs announced raising $5 million in series A funding from Qualcomm Ventures, HTC, The VR Fund, Colopl VR Fund, Capital Factory, and some local Austin investors.
This acquisition suggests that the Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary is bullish on VR content. Google is expected to release information about its virtual reality plans and projects at its I/O developer conference next week.
Earlier this week, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) subsidiary Oculus announced that it is closing its VR film studio Story Studio. The studio, launched in 2015, engaged top experts to create a series of VR shorts and animations, including Lost, Henry, and Dear Angelica.
Meanwhile, shares of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were trading down 0.28% on Thursday. The stock of the technology giant is up over 20% so far this year.
