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Sega swoops for Sports Interactive

Japanese giant buys the UK studio, and a US one too

Sega swoops for Sports Interactive

In a ballsy move redolent of a Russian cash-backed Premiership manager, Sega has bought Sports Interactive, the creator of the hugely popular Football Manager games. In a parallel move, it also acquired US developer Secret Level.

Unlike a high-rolling football club, however, Sega declined to reveal how many millions it had laid out to secure the talent.

With the PSP version of Football Manager just days away, Naoya Tsurumi, CEO of SEGA Europe, pointed out that, "Football Manager is an extremely successful brand for SEGA and one of the most significant titles for our European line-up."

Football Manager has already sold 1.5 million copies on other consoles; Sports Interactive also boasts a decade-long winning run with their previous game, Championship Manager.

"From our first meeting with SEGA, it felt like 'home'", said Miles Jacobson, managing director of Sports Interactive, as he explained the deal. "They really understand development, and it's an honour to get to work with the overwhelming pool of talent from both the development and publishing side."

We'll be finding out more about Football Manager on PSP later this week. The game itself is released on April 13th. Hit the 'Track It' button above to be alerted by email when we post our review.