Ritual to talk MumboJumbo

Casual game specialist that brought Luxor to the masses buys fourth game studio.

Dallas, Texas-based company MumboJumbo has bought Ritual Entertainment, the studio that developed the SiN franchise. The deal took place for an undisclosed sum, and it's a move that MumboJumbo believes will strengthen the company's presence in the casual games industry.

Ritual Entertainment was founded in 1996, also in Dallas, Texas, and was formerly known as Hipnotic Interactive. The company has worked by "contribution or development" on a range of titles, including the SiN Episodes series, 25 to Life, Painkiller, and Quake 4. It currently has more than 30 employees.

MumboJumbo was formed in 2001 by Ron Dimant, who left his post as chief executive officer of Ritual to start up the company. It describes itself as a "publisher, developer, and mass marketer of premium casual games," and produced games, including Luxor 2, Snowball Run, and 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. It already owns and operates three studios in North America.

In October, MumboJumbo announced plans to bring its top game franchises to the PlayStation Portable, and Luxor: Wrath of Set and Platypus were released on the handheld in mid-November. On November 28, the company announced that it would be branching out into Europe and created a new division to focus on the European market.

Dimant believes that the two companies will work well together. He commented, "The casual games market is beginning to mature as evidenced by an increase in consumer expectations. Ultimately, the companies providing the best content will win, which is why we are investing so heavily in the development of technology and original IP."

22 Comments

  • mismajor99

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 8:12 pm PT

    Well, I was hoping for the next chapter of SiN. I liked the storyline a lot but not so much the gameplay. Even so, I hope they do decide to continue making the series, but this doesn't sound good.

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 8:11 pm PT

    I have no idea about this but oh well

  • Vash67

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 7:05 pm PT

    1. Who is MumboJumbo?
    2. Why should I care who they are?
    3. Are they gonna make Ritual push out SiN 2 soon?

  • TryMe01

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 3:48 pm PT

    it seems to be all about the casual market, its making money...!

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 2:46 pm PT

    he's right about the casual game market...its making good money

  • Sharvie

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 11:07 am PT

    'When I saw the title I though it was about the new Banjo Kazooie game'

    Yeah so did i.

  • rah_mhambrey

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 10:24 am PT

    hmm ritual is makin a dx 10 game for the pc lesse

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 10:01 am PT

    Casual games are cool, but what about SiN? Are the other episodes still coming?

  • GodsBusy

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 9:21 am PT

    They bought Ritual and want to talk about casual gaming instead of SiN . . . not a good omen.

    SiN Episode One was cool, I was really looking forward to Ep2 . . .

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 9:10 am PT

    neato

  • Exodist

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 8:42 am PT

    I kinda want the next SiN episode to be made, I enjoyed the original and would like to see what they can come up with next, and how they can improve it. SiN Emergence may not of been the best FPS of 2006, but it was still enjoyable.

  • mclazyj

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 8:07 am PT

    I don't feel this is a positive step in the development of the next episode of SiN. See how their was no mention of SiN Episodes in the press release.

  • Doolum

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 7:55 am PT

    let us see what comes of it,

  • Re_ensurer

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 7:23 am PT

    Bringing top franchises to the PSP. Sounds cool.

  • the_real_VIP

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 6:31 am PT

    Is there still gonna be a SiN Episode 2?

  • indigoAK200

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 5:24 am PT

    I'll add my name to the list of folks that thought this was Banjo-Kazooie news.

    My 360 yearns for it...

  • Cloud737

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 5:18 am PT

    I hope this doesn`t mean that Ritual will stop developing great games. I really liked their games, including SiN, Painkiller and others.
    If they are only gonna develop casual games from now on, I`ll hate MumboJumbo for the rest of my life.

  • SpecterX3

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 5:00 am PT

    When I saw the title I though it was about the new Banjo Kazooie game

  • Rockclmbr6

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 4:47 am PT

    Mmkay, I wasn't alone in thinking this was about banjo kazooie.

  • Willy105

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 4:14 am PT

    Bleh.

    For a moment there I thought this news was about Mumbo Jumbo from Banjo-Kazooie, but what a dissapointment.

  • blacktorn

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 3:58 am PT

    I thought this way about mombo jumbo from banjoo kazooie...never mind...

  • ares_infernus

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 3:53 am PT

    good news?

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