Illuminate Labs, creator of the ‘Beast’ lighting engine used in games like Mirror’s Edge and the ‘Turtle’ precomputed-lighting texture baking system used in several games, has now become yet another part of the always-growing Autodesk stable of products. The plan (for now) is to keep Beast as a standalone tool in their suite of Middleware solutions including “HumanIK” and “Kynapse”, but integrate Turtle into future solutions (hopefully an upcoming edition of 3dsMax or Maya).
Stevens added: “Advanced lighting solutions help game developers achieve their aesthetic goals, enhancing the game’s design and story. Lighting brings games to life by defining environments, establishing mood, creating atmosphere and guiding players. Illuminate Labs’ lighting technology and workflow tailored to game development are some of the most advanced in the industry. They complement Autodesk’s games middleware offering.”
Congratulations to the Illuminate Labs guys, hope you all had a big wad of options 🙂
Full release after the break.
Autodesk Acquires Illuminate Labs – Maker of Lighting Technology for Games
Illuminate Labs’ Technology Simplifies and Accelerates Game Development Process
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., July 21, 2010 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) has acquired Illuminate Labs, a privately held maker of lighting technology for game development. Illuminate Labs’ Beast middleware solution and Turtle plug-in for Autodesk Maya software enable faster iteration on a game’s creative intent, and more realistic in-game lighting. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We welcome Illuminate Labs customers and employees to Autodesk,” said Marc Stevens, VP Games, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “Technological progress is a mainstay of the games industry. Autodesk is committed to helping game developers be more competitive with modern pipelines. We want our customers to spend less time building workflows and solving redundant problems, and more time realizing their creative vision for the game.”
Stevens added: “Advanced lighting solutions help game developers achieve their aesthetic goals, enhancing the game’s design and story. Lighting brings games to life by defining environments, establishing mood, creating atmosphere and guiding players. Illuminate Labs’ lighting technology and workflow tailored to game development are some of the most advanced in the industry. They complement Autodesk’s games middleware offering.” Autodesk also offers Autodesk HumanIK character animation middleware and Autodesk Kynapse artificial intelligence middleware.
Magnus Wennerholm, previously Illuminate Labs CEO, said, “In just a few years, Beast and Turtle have become production-proven technologies for in-game lighting. Leading game developers like Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo America and THQ/Heavy Iron rely on these tools to help deliver higher visual quality in their games. My team and I are excited about the technology development opportunities that Autodesk has to offer. I believe that this acquisition will benefit both Autodesk and Illuminate Labs customers.” Wennerholm and the Illuminate Labs team are joining Autodesk Media & Entertainment.
Autodesk plans to develop and sell Illuminate Labs’ technology and support Illuminate Labs customers. Autodesk anticipates that Beast middleware will continue to be licensed as a standalone product. Autodesk plans to incorporate Turtle into future offerings, and discontinue licensing it as a standalone product. Illuminate Labs customers needing product support are requested to contact [email protected]. If you are interested in evaluating Beast or Turtle technology, please contact [email protected].
Business Outlook
This transaction is expected to have no impact on previously issued guidance.Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the impact of the acquisition on Autodesk’s previously issued guidance, product offerings, product performance, product integration plans and the performance of its business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: difficulties encountered integrating Illuminate Labs’ products, employees and business; unanticipated expenses in integrating Illuminate Labs’ products, employees and business; whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the acquisition; and whether Autodesk can successfully develop new products or modify existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance.Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2010, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2010, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies –– as well as the last 15 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects –– use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.About Illuminate Labs
Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, Illuminate Labs develops and markets rendering and baking technology especially tailored to satisfy the needs of game developers based on the proprietary LiquidLight technology. Turtle is a sophisticated rendering and baking plug-in for Autodesk Maya used for lighting and content creation in next-gen game development. Beast is a game engine-independent content pipeline tool used for advanced global illumination and dynamic relighting of characters.
