Social games company Kabam acquires Fearless Studios

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Kabam, a developer of hard core social games headquartered in Redwood City, has snapped up Fearless Studios and its co-founders, veteran game producers Haden Blackman and Cedrick Collomb.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Fearless is Kabam’s second acquisition -- its first being WonderHill in October 2010 for an undisclosed sum.

While Marin-based Fearless is tiny -- it has just six employees -- its two founders are well known among game developers. Blackman spent 13 years at LucasArts, the video game division of Lucasfilm, before leaving to found Fearless in 2010. He is credited as a writer, producer or director for seven Star Wars titles published by LucasArts, including Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Collomb has worked as a programmer for Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sega before becoming director of engineering for LucasArts.

Both Collomb and Blackman bring expertise in creating console games that feature lush 3-D graphics, something Kabam and other social gaming companies are hoping to incorporate into more of their titles.

“Their skills in game design, emerging technologies and proficiency in making the transition from 2-D to 3-D on consoles mesh perfectly with Kabam’s strategy,’ said Kabam chief executive, Kevin Chou. ‘We’ll significantly strengthen our industry leadership as the online gaming market transitions to higher fidelity, 3D gameplay.’

Founded in 2006, Kabam has more than 150 employees who work on its titles, including Kingdoms of Camelot and The Godfather: Five Families, a licensed game based on the film series.

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-- Alex Pham