Autodesk buys Illuminate Labs, maker of lighting technology for game development

Design, engineering and entertainment software juggernaut Autodesk has agreed to acquire Illuminate Labs, a privately held maker of lighting technology for game development headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company’s Beast middleware solution and Turtle plug-in for Autodesk Maya software enable faster iteration on a game’s creative intent, and more realistic in-game lighting.

Terms of the transaction remain undisclosed, but it’s likely nothing terribly material for NASDAQ-listed Autodesk, which said the transaction is expected to have zero impact on previously issued guidance.

Based on this quote from Marc Stevens, VP Games, Autodesk Media & Entertainment, it looks like all Illuminate Labs employees will be transitioning to Autodesk:

“We welcome Illuminate Labs customers and employees to Autodesk. Technological progress is a mainstay of the games industry. Autodesk is committed to helping game developers be more competitive with modern pipelines. We want our customers to spend less time building workflows and solving redundant problems, and more time realizing their creative vision for the game.”

Autodesk says it plans to develop and sell Illuminate Labs’ technology and support its customers, which include leading game developers like Sony Computer Entertainment, EA, Nintendo and THQ/Heavy Iron. While Autodesk anticipates that Illuminate’s Beast middleware will continue to be licensed as a standalone product, Turtle will not, although the company added that it intends to incorporate the product into future offerings.