CARY – Epic Games continues to grow by acquisition, announcing Friday it had acquired ArtStation, a company targeting creators worldwide in games and other media forms.
ArtStation offers a marketplace for artists to sell their art, post jobs, and host portfolios.
Epic offers its own game store.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition is the latest in several Epic has made over the past several months. Epic also recently closed on a new round of investment capital totalling $1 billion.
The two firms have worked together closely, and in 2020 Epic provided ArtStation a grant, according to VentureBeat.
All the moves come as the privately held game and media technology firm gears up for its antitrust trial against Apple, which opens in a US federal court in California on Monday.
ArtStation, which is based in Montreal, will operate “as an independently branded platform while collaborating closely with the Unreal Engine team,” the companies said.
European Union accuses Apple of violating antitrust laws through App Store rules
Unreal is Epic’s widely used game and related technology development suite.
“Together we will continue to grow the ArtStation community and integrate new features and tools that expand creators’ ability to showcase their talent and artwork,” Epic said.
As a result of the deal, ArtStation is also reducing fees for its services.
“We are thrilled that ArtStation is joining Epic as we work to accelerate the development and growth of the creator community worldwide,” said Marc Petit, General Manager of Unreal Engine, in a statement. “The ArtStation leadership team brings tremendous talent and an unparalleled track record of supporting a vibrant creator community and ecosystem. We look forward to working with them to provide creators with access to even more resources and tools, empowering them to do their best work.”
Leonard Teo, CEO and founder of the startup that launched severn years ago, said the deal means “we will be able to advance this mission and give back to the community in ways that we weren’t able to on our own, while retaining the ArtStation name and spirit.”
