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November Software, a team of independent developers who previously worked on AAA titles like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, were quietly acquired by Zynga this past spring for an undisclosed sum, a representative for the studio announced today on Zynga's blog.
The studio was founded in April of 2011, and began working on an ambitious, exploration-based social title called Inemeri: A Familiar World. Development on that project came to a halt late last year, however, as November transitioned its efforts over to a new, more action-oriented game code-named Golden Arrow, a trailer for which is embedded below. According to the blog post, the game caught the attention of Zynga, who quickly acquired the studio as part of its push into the "mid-core" audience — a push which includes the acquisition of developer A Bit Lucky, as well as the hiring of Mortal Kombat creator John Tobias.
"Speaking with the folks at Zynga, we were immediately blown away with the conviction and energy they had about making kick-ass mobile games that leave a strong, memorable impression on players," November Software CEO Szymon Swistun wrote. "We realized we could accelerate game development by combining our team's expertise building blockbuster console games and Zynga's strength in building social games on a massive scale."
The game is now in development in partnership with Zynga, and has a new operating title: Battlestone. Additional details about the game are scant at this time, but Swistun promises we'll "be hearing from us again soon."
