Disney is selling its video game studio, FoxNext

Last year, we heard the CEO of Walt Disney, Bob Iger revealed the company’s plans to distance itself from in-house game development. Reaching the endgame, the company is selling its video game development studio named FoxNext to Scopely, the mobile game development company based on the Culver City.

While the terms and conditions of the sale are not yet disclosed, the U.S. regulators signed off on the deal this month, according to a Hart-Scott-Rodino Act notice published by the Federal Trade Commission. In October, Scopely announced that it had raised $200 million in strategic financing “to accelerate the company’s M&A and investment strategy.” The new funding round valued the company at $1.7 billion.

“I’m extremely proud of what our talented team at FoxNext Games has built and accomplished in just a few years, and look forward to joining forces with the impressive team at Scopely, who has a well-deserved reputation as one of the preeminent companies in the free-to-play games arena,” said Aaron Loeb, FoxNext Games President. LionTree Advisors is acting as a financial adviser to Disney, with Moelis & Company acting as financial adviser to Scopely.

Scopely is one of the popular game companies holding familiar games like Star Trek: Fleet Command, passed $1 billion in revenue last year. The company also develops games based on other entertainment IP, including The Walking Dead, Wheel of Fortune and the WWE. FoxNext currently has games under development based on the Avatar and Alien franchises.

The acquisition does not include a separate portfolio of Fox IP licensed games titles, which will continue to be a part of Disney’s licensed games business.