Fruit Ninja's Halfbrick Partially Acquires Animation Studio

Fruit Ninja's Australian developer Halfbrick has increased its size with the partial acquisition of a local animation studio, the company said Wednesday. The animation studio, The People's Republic of Animation, will begin its collaboration with Halfbrick with a trailer for its upcoming Machine Gun Jetpack. In addition to several animated shorts and commercials, the studio also produced cinematics for games that include Sony's ModNation Racers, THQ's de Blob series, Microsoft's Viva Pinata: Party Animals. "This is an important step for Halfbrick," said CEO Shainiel Deo. "We see their narrative focus as an incredible resource for creating new and truly compelling IP. Between PRA and Halfbrick, there is barely a screen we can't reach." Fellow mobile powerhouse Rovio (of Angry Birds fame) acquired an animation studio of its own last month.