UK mobile games developer IOMO has acquired mobile gaming studio Covert Operations for an undisclosed sum in one of the first internal consolidation moves within the mobile development sector in the UK.

The deal will see all of Covert's staff being relocated to IOMO's studios in Eastleigh, Hampshire - no redundancies will be made - and Covert Operations managing director Niall Fraser will take on a new role as development director at IOMO.

"The rapid growth of the mobile gaming market means that the expectations for developers are rising constantly," explained Fraser. "Covert had reached the point where we had to either expand greatly or join a company which has the resources to take full advantage of the market as it continues to grow. We're very pleased to be joining such a leading developer as IOMO."

Covert Operations has worked on a variety of mobile platforms in the past, including the Game Boy Color, the Game Boy Advance and Java-based mobile phone systems; the firm created a variety of licenced titles for mobile phones, and was behind the GBC version of Denki's award winning puzzle title, Denki Blocks.

"The acquisition of Covert Operations is a natural move that will allow us to expand our capacity and acquire both assets and extremely experienced staff simultaneously," according to IOMO managing director John Chasey. The move will certainly enhance IOMO's ability to remain a key player in the mobile development sector - an area which is attracting significant interest from traditional game developers and publishers now that revenues are finally starting to flow.

© gamesindustry.biz