Keywords Studios acquires US developer Hardsuit Labs

In an undisclosed deal estimated to be worth around 15 million US dollars, Irish video games company Keywords Studios has just added the Seattle-based studio Hardsuit Labs to its ever-growing roster of trademarks.

According to the announcement, the Seattle-based developers will become part of the Keywords creative team and specialize in providing game porting and co-development for other games to begin with.

Although having only been founded in 2015, Hardsuit Labs already has a solid resume and has worked on AAA games such as Call of Duty and Gears of War, as well as on fan favorited titles State of Decay and Crash Bandicoot 4. Currently, it is working alongside Epic Games on one of its most popular games, Fortnite.

The small development team also began working on the highly-anticipated Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, but were later dropped from the project in 2021. Hardsuit has also developed its own independent title, the free-to-play first-person shooter, Blacklight: Retribution.

It has also been confirmed that the studio’s founders will stay at the helm and continue to lead the studio and its 70 employees.

Hardsuit has a reputation as a high-quality studio that has successfully worked on several of gaming’s largest franchises. Both sides involved in the deal are excited to be working together and feel the merger is a good fit for all included. Strengthening the Keywords ‘Create’ service line and improving on some of its intellectual properties in the digital entertainment space will be Hardsuit Labs’ top priority moving forward.

For Keywords Studios, one of the world’s leading language and audio localizers for both console and PC games, the acquisition of a company that has worked on games the likes of Call of Duty will help to further strengthen the respect of its own brand’s image and continue to grow its reputation in the industry.