Activision announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire DemonWare, a company best known for its network middleware technologies for console and PC games headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The acquisition will enable Activision to gain efficiencies related to online game development and positions the company to take advantage of the growth in online gameplay that will be driven by the next-generation consoles. Activision is no stranger to DemonWare's technologies - the company licensed the technology for Call of Duty 3. DemonWare has two main products -- DemonWare's Matchmaking+, which provides advanced community services for multiplayer gaming, including player matching, user profiling and gaming statistics across current-and next-gen consoles and PCs; and DemonWare's State Engine, a cross-platform network engine that ensures that console-to-console communications are secure and as lag-free as possible.

Under the terms of the agreement, DemonWare will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision and the company's management team and key employees will sign long-term employment contracts with Activision. DemonWare will continue to be headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Vancouver, B.C. The transaction is expected to be completed on or before Activision's first quarter of fiscal year 2008 ends. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.