Jun 3, 2015

Tim Rea, chief executive officer of Palringo Gaming and instant messaging company Palringo has acquired Finnish game developers Tribe Studios. The Cramlington-founded business, which now operates across Europe, bought Helsinki-based Tribe Studios in an undisclosed deal advised by Newcastle law firm Watson Burton LLP. Tribe Studios is known for its patented Dramagame technology and develops multiplayer games built around chat interaction — a strength of Palringo. Players of Tribe Studio’s games can have multiple points of view and pursue a number of outcomes depending on their in-game decisions. Palringo will now use the Dramagame technology in its own app. Last year the firm acquired Swedish outfit Free Lunch Design in a move designed to put its instant messaging technology into community orientated mobile games. Tim Rea, Palringo chief executive officer, said: “The combination of games, messaging and communities made Tribe Studios a perfect fit for us, and we’re very excited to start working together. “Palringo has been a client of Watson Burton for a number of years now — I knew that we could rely on them to project manage the acquisition. Its specialist technology team formulated the agreement, and liaised with our Finnish lawyers and Tribe Studio’s team in Finland to secure the deal. I’m very happy with the outcome.” Head of corporate at Watson Burton, Duncan Reid, said: “This acquisition will bring an exciting added dimension for users of the Palringo platform. In the fast-paced gaming industry, it is important for businesses like Palringo to continuously develop in order to keep users engaged. “It is a great move for the company, and one which I’m sure will add to its high growth and continued success.” Palringo was founded by Martin Rosinski — then a 21 year-old engineering student — as an instant messaging platform for workers at his father’s engineering company. The business has now generated more than 35 million downloads worldwide, with users building communities based on shared interests, particularly gaming. By using the Palringo app, users can chat and simultaneously play games either with fellow members of their community, or join forces to play against other groups.