Aussie mobile devs Firemint, Iron Monkey merged

EA has merged two of its mobile studios - Firemint and Iron Monkey - to form a new developer called Firemonkeys. You can see why this had to happen.

EA believes the merger makes Firemonkeys the largest development team in Australia - and expects to make further hires soon.

The two Melbourne teams have shared a building since EA acquired Firemint in May 2011. Iron Monkey general manager Tony Lay told Gamespot the merger just made sense.

"This is simply the most practical way to be successful, for both Iron Monkey and Firemint. It wasn't our original intention to merge, but since we work in the same building and we often help each other out on projects it made a lot of sense," he said.

The two companies seem pretty chuffed about joining forces, which Lay believes will help the new team take ownership of and promote unique properties, but are also keen to not alienate fans of both existing teams.

"Ultimately, the name Firemonkeys respects both the studios' legacy. People can still judge us by the products we make," Lay promised.

"Iron Monkey has always retained creative control over the games we make and that won't change. All this merger means is that we can be a lot more efficient in the way we do business. We can share resources and knowledge with Firemint and become the best of the breed in mobile development."

Iron Monkey is best known for a couple of high-profile EA properties - Mass Effect Infiltrator, Dead Space mobile, and The Sims Freeplay - while Firemint's successes include Flight Control and SPY Mouse.