Sumo Surges Ahead with US West Coast Acquisition

Headcount nears 1,000 following the addition of Pipeworks

Sheffield, UK. Wednesday, September 30th, 2020: Sumo Group has announced that it has agreed to acquire Pipeworks, Inc. (“Pipeworks”), an innovative and highly-experienced full and co-development studio, based in Eugene, Oregon.

The acquisition gives Sumo a significant and well-established presence on the West Coast, from which to expand in the US market, and brings an abundance of valuable experience to the Group. The addition of its 134-strong team takes Sumo Group’s headcount to just short of 1000, a major step forward in the company’s growth strategy.

Pipeworks was founded in 1999, with a focus on advanced technology and innovative gameplay for both established and emerging IP. The business has developed or co-developed over 100 games and advanced technology solutions for almost 50 clients and partners. Client-IP games include Madden NFL20 and NFL21, co-developed with EA Sports (Madden NFL). Pipeworks’ clients include Electronic Arts (Madden NFL), Wizards of the Coast, Google, Genvid, and Age of Learning, which both add and are complementary to Sumo Group’s existing relationships.

The acquisition brings additional Own-IP to Sumo Group. Pipeworks recently secured the video game rights to Prominence Poker, a free to play game launched on console and PC, which was originally created by Pipeworks and published by 505 Games.

The business is a leader in the application of emerging technology and game science to adjacent complementary markets, including the US public sector, distance learning, remote healthcare, and AI-driven simulation.

The company also supplies advanced technology and creative expertise, including real-time simulation and artificial intelligence to the US public sector via Metateq. Its proprietary live-game backend technology, COSOMO™, and development/operations expertise have powered many games and advanced simulations since 2011.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be joining Sumo Group. Our ambition is to be the best and most innovative game developer in North America and this will be a ‘level-up’ for all of us at Pipeworks. I’ve known Carl and the team at Sumo for a long time and have the greatest respect for them as a company, as game developers, and most importantly, as people. The cultural fit between Pipeworks and Sumo is remarkable, and we all love to make great games with great partners. I can’t wait for this next big chapter in the long history of Pipeworks Studios,” Lindsay Gupton, Chief Executive Officer of Pipeworks, commented.

“This is a major step forward for our business. Having known Lindsay for some time and been a keen follower of Pipeworks, I am naturally delighted to welcome Lindsay and his team to Sumo Group and look forward to working together and sharing an exciting future. Sumo Group is thriving. This is the largest acquisition Sumo Group has made since IPO. Our underlying market is strong, and we see good opportunities for new games, including Original-IP developed by our talented studios. I would like to thank our team, once again, for their great work, which continues to drive the Group’s success,” added Carl Cavers, Chief Executive of Sumo Group.

Northern Pacific Group Partner, Marcy Haymaker, added: “We have been very pleased with our partnership with Pipeworks and are thrilled to see the company move to its next chapter as a part of Sumo Group. We wish Lindsay and the entire team the very best and look forward to being shareholders of the combined business.”

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About Sumo GroupSumo Group's businesses provide acclaimed development and design services to the video games and entertainment industries from studios in the UK, India, and Canada.

Sumo Digital, as the Group's primary business, is one of the UK's largest independent developers of AAA-rated video games, having studios in Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham, Leamington Spa, Warrington and Pune, India. The business has acquired three studios since IPO, which operate under their own names, BAFTA award-winning The Chinese Room in Brighton, Red Kite Games in Leeds and Lab42 in Leamington Spa. Sumo Digital provides turnkey and co-development solutions to a global blue-chip client base.

Atomhawk is a multi-award-winning visual design company, with studios in Newcastle and in Vancouver (Canada), servicing the games, film, and visual effects industries.

About PipeworksPipeworks is an imagination-driven development studio armed with a mastery of cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of the player experience. They are leaders in the realm of Cloud Gaming, Radical AI, Interactive Streaming, Transformational Experiences and so much more.

Since 1999, Pipeworks Studios has been developing best-selling games and beloved game franchises from deep in the heart of Oregon. Their teams are creating truly unique original IP games alongside the on-going work with key game franchises and outside partners. Pipeworks believes in creating popular, innovative, and unique games that harness the creative spark of their teams and embrace the power of players and community.