Tower Studios' arcade-style soccer game series Sociable Soccer has been acquired by Sporty Group.
The acquisition marks the sports media platform's first entry into the mobile and video gaming market.
The company will oversee the global release of the game, which is a spiritual successor to the Sensible Soccer series and was designed by Tower Studios CEO and Creative Director John Hare.
Sociable Soccer 24 will be released in late 2023 on Steam and Nintendo Switch, followed by Xbox and PlayStation later this year.
Following the acquisition, Hare will continue to lead the development of Sociable Soccer, leveraging Sporty Group's resources.
Sporty Group operates the betting and gaming brand SportyBet, the sports app Sporty.com and owns and operates SportyTV, a premium live sports broadcaster in Nigeria and Ghana.
“Bringing our talented development team under the Sporty umbrella will enable us to continue to focus on what we do best: designing and creating hit games for as many platforms and gamers as possible,” Hare said.
“Being able to do this safely knowing that we have a highly successful and growing sports entertainment conglomerate behind us makes Sporty the ideal partner for us, allowing us to build a better game and grow our audience.”
Gregory Parsons, vice president of business development at Sporty Group, added: “In speaking with John and his team, it was clear they share the same aspirations and we are thrilled to welcome them into the Sporty family. We have great plans for the future of Soccer and believe this is just the start of the journey.”
Last October, Gaming Industry We spoke to Hare about the Sociable Soccer series and how it now boasts over 10,000 real-world players licensed by FIFPRO, with more on the way.
