Sega Buys Game Developer Secret Level

In a bid to expand in the U.S. and European video game markets, Sega has bought Secret Level, makers of the "America's Army: Rise of a Soldier" console game, for $15 million.

Sega Holdings of USA announced today that it has purchased San Francisco-based video game developer Secret Level for $15 million, the developer behind the successful console game America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier for Xbox and Playstation 2 as well as Karaoke Revolution and a Magic: The Gathering game for Xbox.

“In recent years, SEGA has rebalanced its development strategy to be more Western focused,” said Naoya Tsurumi, CEO, SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. “On the heels of our first, successful studio acquisition with The Creative Assembly, the addition of this development powerhouse further moves SEGA toward its goal of becoming a leading next-generation publisher.”

Secret Level will remain in San Franscisco, and is expected to expand on Sega’s content library, including its famous Sonic the Hedgehog character, to develop games for next-generaiton consoles including the Xbox 360 as well as the Playstation 3, and Nintendo Revolution.

Simon Jeffery, President & COO, SEGA of America, Inc., said, “We looked long and hard at building an internal studio from scratch, but were so impressed with the team at Secret Level and their next-gen technology that we decided to create our internal development infrastructure through a direct acquisition, one that could fulfill our dynamic growth plans and produce high quality games.”

America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier is notable for having been backed by the U.S. Army as a recruitment tool.