Keywords Studios set to acquire Smoking Gun

Keywords Studios has entered a conditional agreement that would see it acquire game developer Smoking Gun.

The acquisition: It's not a done deal just yet.

• Financial terms of the proposed transaction were not disclosed in the announcement.
• Keywords has made it clear that the acquisition is part of its plan to expand its game development capabilities and continue building on its presence in Vancouver, Canada.
• Smoking Gun was founded in 2007 and has a team of 68 employees, though it's currently hiring for 10 more positions at the time of publication. It's perhaps best known for its work in real-time strategy with games like Microsoft Mahjong and Age of Empires: Castle Siege.

The studio: Keywords will provide Smoking Gun with "opportunities to build, deliver and support more award winning titles."

• As well as game development, other pillars in Keywords Studios' business include QA testing, software localization, player support, and art & audio services.
• Just a month ago, the studio announced that it had acquired Mighty Games to bolster its mission of becoming the "go to" for technical and creative services in the gaming industry.
• It provides services to "23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies," according to a press release. Its list of clients includes Activision Blizzard, EA, Epic Games, Microsoft, Riot Games, Square Enix, and Ubisoft.