Wargaming acquires Total Annihilation and Master of Orion franchises

World of Tanks developer Wargaming.net has purchased the Total Annihilation and Master of Orion franchises from Atari. The firm also announced it will be opening up a new office in the US.

The purchases come as a result of last month's Atari IP auction. It seems that Wargaming successfully beat off competition from Monday Night Combat developer Uber Entertainment for Total Annihilation and from Stardock for Master of Orion.

Wargaming boss Victor Kislyi has apparently said that the games it will develop for both franchises will be "big triple-A, massive titles with all of Wargaming's power behind them.

"Total Annihilation and Master of Orion are strategy game classics," he added. "Although it's too soon to disclose any details, we are more than willing to give a new lease of life to these games most of us grew up playing. It's exactly where our major focus will be."

I must admit that I've never played either franchise, but this news seems to be reason for excitement.

Wargaming said its new office will be located in Austin, Texas and will cover the following divisions: Producing Center, Central Technology, and Global Business Intelligence Groups.