For years we've touted having two world leading mobile developers right here in Melbourne, and before you knew it, Electronic Arts snapped them both up and now they've merged these two outstanding developers, Firemint and Ironmonkey Studios, and have announced the combined studio as "Firemonkeys".
Many know Firemint for very popular Flight Control, SPY mouse and Real Racing titles, and Ironmonkey Studios is well known for producing Mass Effect Infiltrator, Dead Space and The Sims FreePlay for the mobile platform. Electronic Arts acquired Firemint in mid 2011 for under $25 million and Ironmonkey Studios was acquired in early 2010.
Former Firemint CEO and current Executive Producer, Rob Murray, has a positive outlook on what the unification means for the future...
IronMonkey and Firemint have solid reputations for producing well-known games and we are excited to have the opportunity to share best practices, technology and resources.
Tony Lay from Ironmonkey Studios is also equally positive on what the new combined studio will bring...
Both of these studios have produced award-winning games and we believe combining the incredible talent pool in Melbourne, as well as leveraging the EA brand sets us up for further success in the mobile arena,” adds Tony Lay, GM of IronMonkey
The Firemonkeys claim the title of largest game developer in Australia.