Google Acquires Green Throttle Games

In rushing their bid toward what potentially may be a foray into their own game development, mega-corporation Google has taken another step toward that end with the announcement of their acquisition of Green Throttle Games. This is the 3rd acquisition that Google has made in 2014, the other two being the companies Nest and DeepMind, but this is the first time that Google has directly purchased a game developer in this quarter.

Founded in 2012 by Charles Huang, who used to be with RedOctane (known for creating the Guitar Hero franchise as well as Karl Townsed and Matt Crowley, Green Throttle Games is best known for creating a controller, called the Atlas, that can be connected via an app on your Android device to play games. The company was considering developing an Android virtual console that would connect directly to your TV’s before their acquisition by Google, and it is unknown at this time if they will continue to work on that project.

Huang and his colleagues believed that phones and tablets could be equipped with enough processing power to wholly replace the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and hoped to be the platform that would allow users to leave gaming boxes behind.

However, despite the ideas of its founders, Green Throttle Games never developed its ideas adequately, and was often criticized for being late in the game when competitors, like Ouya, had already launched Android-specific gaming ideas. Due to lackluster support, Green Throttle Games removed its app from the Google Play Store in November discontinuing all back-end support for the Atlus controller, which is now defunct.

As first reported by Pando Daily, Google would not specify the terms of the acquisition, but did disclose that Huang will retain Green Throttle Games’ business right, while Google will acquire its parts and labor. Huang’s partners Crowley and Townsend will also stay aboard, although it is not clear what capacity they will be working in

Given that Green Throttle Games’ was on the down-and-out, this acquisition by Google may give Huang and the gang a much needed shot-in-the-arm from a business perspective, and certainty legitimizes rumors that Google is working on their own Android-powered gaming console that will potentially rival the crowd-funded Ouya.

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Daniel Horowitz

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Daniel doesn't just play and write about games, but he also writes his own comics. He can usually be found arguing with Dale about who the best member of the X-Men is (it's Jamie Madrox, obviously)