Emergent Grows Revenues 35 Percent On Gamebryo Lightspeed

Engine maker Emergent Game Technologies says its revenues are up 35 percent year over year, and that thanks to new licensees and reducing expenses, it's 58 percent more profitable, too. Emergent says it closed over 120 licensing deals for its Gamebryo and Gamebryo Lightspeed tech during 2009, with the strongest growth taking place in North America, Japan and China. “Emergent has made changes to weather the tough economic climate and is poised to become stronger than ever as a result of those changes,” says CEO Scott Johnson. "While the Asian market and the US visual simulation market never slowed for us, we are now seeing signs that game development is starting to pick up in North America and Europe. Emergent's Lightspeed tech has integration deals with numerous companies and technologies, including PhysX, Scaleform, Direct3D 11 and Autodesk tools, among others. Its multi-year licensees have included THQ and Square Enix; its most recent deal is with Belgian developer Larian Studios for Divinity II and Monkey Labs Following restructuring -- which included some layoffs -- late in 2009, Emergent said it planned to continue growing its business by shifting its focus further away from core development toward its global partnerships and licensing business. Says Emergent's Johnson: "Our core message of reducing redundancies by using Gamebryo LightSpeed is resonating with publishers and developers.”