Take-Two Buys TalonSoft

Take-Two Interactive has certainly been in a festive mood lately. Buoyed by recent successes in its distribution and publication deals, its high-flying financial results, and its settlement (of sorts) with Derek Smart, the international publisher-developer-distributor has practically owned headlines recently.

Today is no different. The company said on Thursday that it has completed an acquisition of popular historical strategy game developer TalonSoft in a stock acquisition deal.

TalonSoft was founded in 1995 by a then-disgruntled Avalon Hill employee Jim Rose and John Davidson, and has since become a formidable force in war gaming. Over the few years since its inception, TalonSoft has released fifteen titles, most recently West Front and the Operational Art of War.

“We are delighted to be part of the Take-Two family,” said Jim Rose, President of TalonSoft. “Take-Two's strong worldwide distribution will broaden the reach of our award-winning products and allow us to focus on what we do best, which is make great games.”

“As the most recent financial results demonstrate, Take-Two's management is focused on profitability and controlled growth,” said John Davidson, CEO of TalonSoft. “The synergies with TalonSoft's product strategy will lead to a very exciting future.”

“The acquisition of TalonSoft, a leading publisher of historical strategy games, significantly expands Take-Two's PC product offerings both domestically and abroad,” said Anthony Williams, COO of Take-Two. “We are also pleased to announce that John Davidson and Jim Rose have decided to join Take-Two bringing with them their years of experience in this important PC genre.”