Ubisoft Buys TrackMania Developers Nadeo

Valve isn’t the only developer makes moves to expand this week, as French publisher Ubisoft has acquired Nadeo, the also French developers responsible for the wildly popular TrackMania racing game series.

That’s a good get, as not only does Ubisoft fill a hole in its line-up—the publisher is weak in the racing genre—it also helps the company expand “within the on-line gaming sector,” according to CEO Yves Guillemot. TrackMania has some 700,000 unique players per month, according to Ubisoft, with 10 million registered players and nearly 15 million user created tracks.

“We are excited about the idea of introducing TrackMania to an ever-wider audience and sharing the expertise of Nadeo’s teams with our Group’s other developers,” Guillemot said in a statement.

Nadeo is equally excited to have been swallowed by Ubi.

“Nadeo’s team was keen for this acquisition to happen,” said Florent Castelnérac, CEO of Nadeo. “Like players in a community, we see ourselves as being a complementary fit with Ubisoft and believe that we can share and quickly move ahead together.”

But, hey, don’t let this warmhearted mutual admiration for both corporate entities stop you from coming up with new TrackMania titles, such as Imagine: Track Driver, Petz Carz or My Ramp Jumping Coach. It feels to good to deny oneself the pleasure.