Epic acquires Chair

Gears of War maker adds Utah-based Undertow developer and Ender's Game rights holder as a wholly owned subsidiary.

In November, Chair Entertainment released Undertow over Xbox Live, the studio's first title after being formed by ex-Glyphx Games staffers in 2005. While the Unreal Engine 3-powered shooter didn't receive the critical approbation the studio may have hoped for, Chair undoubtedly gained fans when the game was given away as part of Microsoft's effort to make amends for the spotty Xbox Live service many gamers experienced over the holidays.

Epic Games apparently liked what it saw from the Provo, Utah-based outfit's use of its engine, as the developer said today it has acquired Chair Entertainment. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Epic did say that Chair would become a wholly owned subsidiary and retain its name and focus on creating original titles using Unreal Engine.

In addition to Undertow and its expansion, Path of the Elect, Chair is known for its collaborations with legendary sci-fi writer Orson Scott Card. Following Card's work on Glyphx's Advent Horizon, the scribe said he would be teaming with Chair on Empire, an original property that posits a United States torn asunder by a second Civil War in which the political Left and Right come to blows. Thus far the property has yielded a New York Times best-selling novel penned by Card, and Chair has said it will be making a shooter based on Empire that runs on Epic's Unreal Engine 3.

The developer also said in January that it had landed the exclusive console, handheld, and PC rights to make games based on Card's quintessential Ender's Game. According to Chair, development on the first Ender's Game-inspired title will begin later this year and focus on the Battle Room, where children engage in simulated wargames. Chair anticipates releasing the game as a downloadable offering through digital-distribution platforms.

43 Comments

  • Gifted_One

    Posted May 23, 2008 10:28 am GMT

    Who is Chair Entertainment? What have they accomplished in terms of games developed or published.

  • doctordistorto

    Posted May 22, 2008 2:41 pm GMT

    there is no way any video game made, especially by chair, could capture the nuances of zero gravity combat that defined enders game

  • thespotter

    Posted May 21, 2008 7:46 pm GMT

    The day this game comes out, somewhere a child will cry...

  • PieCrusher

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:39 pm GMT

    Haha Chair!?! They must be really lazy when it comes to naming their companies.

  • enoslives7

    Posted May 21, 2008 10:27 am GMT

    I wonder if they will acquire Chair's sister company...Table (seriously, who comes up with these names ??)

  • mrkame16

    Posted May 21, 2008 9:19 am GMT

    Its no wonder they gave that game away for free..it really sucked!! i downloaded the first day, played it once and have played it since..

  • Buttonio

    Posted May 21, 2008 8:32 am GMT

    Advent Rising!

  • Neo1O1

    Posted May 21, 2008 8:22 am GMT

    Could be interesting...

  • pawnstorm

    Posted May 21, 2008 8:18 am GMT

    Awesome-town. Ender's Game was one of the few books I enjoyed reading at an analytical level. It'd be awesome for there to be a good possibility for a rock-solid game about the battleroom (and **** why not follow up with a good Ground Control style space 'RTS'. You could even bring over commanders from your closest allies in Battleroom.

  • Nxss-effa-sim

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:55 am GMT

    thenephariouson, it sounds plausible to me. GOW 2 is probably one of the most anticipated X360 games in the not too distant future. Acquiring Epic would be more of an insurance policy than anything else for MS--not that I would agree with the decision.

  • raze-boi

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:44 am GMT

    Whatever people say, I will still trust Epic! They Know What They Are Doing!

  • diablobasher

    Posted May 21, 2008 6:26 am GMT

    Great, the EA of the engine world buys more stuff. Soon there will only be three, EA, Epic and Valve.

  • vaejas

    Posted May 21, 2008 4:17 am GMT

    "children engage in simulated wargames"

    Oh yes, this will end well.
    But seriously, you wanna crack down on something, look at Young Adult literature. All kinds'a crazy crap.

  • BlackKnightOfH8

    Posted May 21, 2008 2:06 am GMT

    I sure hope Epic can help them because Undertow sucked more then a porn star.

  • Ranteal

    Posted May 21, 2008 1:04 am GMT

    but Epic did say that Chair would become a wholly owned subsidiary Yeah right!!! There is no way there gonna let chair become a Mango-blasted hub-cap!!! Think about it people, why would they run for major-mayor-mustard-man if they didnt want the three deal deluxe from no-deal-dinner-dan. DUH!!!!!

  • Ranteal

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:52 am GMT

    Monkey Solar will indeed one day buy Epic. He will cash out all the leafs and smiles he has in his purple pocket. The fair children of South Korea will run to there robot masters and live a good strong life!! We will all love and live today and his life will see that GRAPES ARE NOT FOR FUN, THEY ARE FOR FINE TIMES AND FANCY ONLY!!!!!!!

  • thenephariouson

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:17 am GMT

    Can anyone foresee MS buying Epic?

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted May 21, 2008 12:14 am GMT

    Yes enders game game .... woot dont fail me!

  • peeweeshift

    Posted May 20, 2008 8:31 pm GMT

    undertow was best free game i got

  • drangel_jam

    Posted May 20, 2008 8:18 pm GMT

    Insteresting, I wander what kind or terms are involved.

  • EXxile

    Posted May 20, 2008 8:11 pm GMT

    Shoulda saw this coming considering their friendship with Epic after creating Undertow (an XBLA game running on Unreal 3). Good for the both of them. Two great companies merging together is not a bad thing.

  • Shtinky

    Posted May 20, 2008 7:27 pm GMT

    Chair...? Their company name is so **** they deserved to be bought out.

  • seanisgod

    Posted May 20, 2008 6:33 pm GMT

    Please, now that Chair is owned by Epic, they could easily get the rights back for Advent Rising. Such a good game, a shame what happened to that series.

  • EnriqueMJK

    Posted May 20, 2008 6:19 pm GMT

    Chair doesn't own the rights to Advent Rising. I think Majesco does. I also think that Majesco don't plan on making a sequel to Advent Rising. The guys at Chair would absolutely love to. The guys in charge of Chair came up with the ideas for that game when they were kids but they can no longer work on that property. Even though they dreamt it up and then literally created it- they dont own the rights Irony''s a **** huh?

  • gohanmaster2001

    Posted May 20, 2008 6:19 pm GMT

    LOL when i read the headline i was like, WOW they get to sit down now.

  • RealKilla_789

    Posted May 20, 2008 6:15 pm GMT

    everyone is getting merged. soon all we'll have is activision & EA

  • 09231991

    Posted May 20, 2008 5:38 pm GMT

    I agree 184him, Advent Rising was one of the best Xbox games that was unknown. The original Xbox had a huge amount of extremely good titles but they were under rated and unappreciated. Advent Rising 2 with Unreal 3 Engine and Gears cover system would be awesome!

  • barJerubsheol

    Posted May 20, 2008 5:35 pm GMT

    Why is everyone getting bought up?

  • 184him

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:57 pm GMT

    Please, Epic, make Advent Rising 2, it would make me cry many many tears of joy. I think i would have a heart attack.

  • ligerz76

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:55 pm GMT

    Cool. Can't wait for the game Empire.

  • chromium42

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:52 pm GMT

    Would be great to see a quality shop take a crack at the Ender's Game license.

    Hopefully the movie (if it ever gets made) won't end up like Advent Rising.

  • Asurael

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:37 pm GMT

    For a second I really thought they were reporting Epic buying an actual chair xD.

  • orfbin

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:13 pm GMT

    Advent Rising 2 using the Gears cover system, and the Unreal engine would be sweet. Advent Rising is one of my favorite games, and though it probably wont happen, it makes me excited thinking what epic could do with the rest of the trilogy.

  • akiwak

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:07 pm GMT

    Epic now looking for Seat Cushions to add to their portfolio...

  • Absolutezerr

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:03 pm GMT

    I'd like to see Epic work with the Battle Room team and make a game that people will remember for a long time.

  • planetpib

    Posted May 20, 2008 4:00 pm GMT

    sweet, i hope Epic makes some good stuff from them.

  • JoeF

    Posted May 20, 2008 3:59 pm GMT

    I hope they buy Table to go with it.

  • Lorindol

    Posted May 20, 2008 3:57 pm GMT

    this could be a promising venture for all of them

  • -GhostMLD-

    Posted May 20, 2008 3:56 pm GMT

    cool

  • sphinx-shadow

    Posted May 20, 2008 3:48 pm GMT

    Good pick up for Epic Games.

  • Kravyn81

    Posted May 20, 2008 3:48 pm GMT

    Good news, I guess. I didn't bother with the free game though. Didn't quite appeal to my tastes.

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