Unity, the developer of the eponymous 3D engine for video games, has announced its intention to acquire Weta Digital, which co-founded by director Peter Jackson. Weta Digital is responsible for special effects on Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong and other Mr. Jackson films. Unity will acquire the technology, intellectual property and engineering staff of Weta Digital for $ 1.62 billion. The company’s special effects artists will be transferred to a separate company Weta FX, the largest share of which will remain with Peter Jackson.
Unity will continue to develop City Builder, the Loki water, fire, smoke and fabric simulator, and other Weta Digital technologies. As part of the deal, the company will also get access to a library of resources – textures, materials, objects and other elements for use in 3D graphics.
“Our goal is to give creators and artists around the world access to exclusive high-end special effects, and once integrated with Unity, enable a new generation of creativity in real-time 3D graphics,” said Marc Whitten, senior vice president of Unity.
Weta Digital was founded in 1993. The founders include co-producer of The Lord of the Rings trilogy Jamie Selkirk and co-founder of the practical special effects company Weta Workshop Richard Taylor.
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