Intel Acquires Havok
In a surprising development, Intel announced Friday that it has agreed to acquire Havok, the Irish middleware developer best known for the Havok Physics engine. Under the agreement, Havok will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Havok Physics has been used in more than 100 games, including such leading titles as Half-Life 2, BioShock, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Halo 2. In addition to games, Havok's software tools have also been used to create special effects and digital animation in feature films like "The Matrix" and "Troy." Intel says the deal will allow developers in both the gaming and movie industries to further utilize its digital media technology.
Thanks to Havok, we've been able to enjoy inventions like the gravity gun from Half-Life 2.
"Havok is a proven leader in physics technology for gaming and digital content, and will become a key element of Intel's visual computing and graphics efforts," said Renee J. James, vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group, in a press statement. "Havok will operate its business as usual, which will allow them to continue developing products that are offered across all platforms in the industry."
Havok was founded in 1998 by Dr. Steven Collins and Hugh Reynolds of the computer science department at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The basis for the Havok Physics engine grew out of a computer science research project the two had worked on at the college (the two are no longer with the company). "This is a great fit for Havok products, customers and employees," said Havok CEO David O'Meara, in a press statement. "Intel's scale of technology investment and customer reach enable Havok with opportunities to grow more quickly into new market segments with new products than we could have done organically. We believe the winning combination is Havok's technology and customer know-how with Intel's scale. I am excited to be part of this next phase of Havok's growth."
Intel's acquisition of Havok was a bit of a surprise, since there hadn't been any rumors or indications that Havok was up for sale. The company had just released its anticipated Havok 5 engine, which includes major upgrades for Havok Physics as well as Havok Animation and Havok Behavior, which controls event-driven character responses. The company also said that Havok 5, which has already been used in games like John Woo's Stranglehold and the forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, will feature significant memory and CPU improvements.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will use Havok's physics engine to introduce an all-new level of Force abilities.
So what does the marriage of Havok and Intel mean for physics technology and gaming? First and foremost, the acquisition shows the growing importance of physics technology for game development and digital animation. Havok had already achieved a high profile, thanks to its work on 2004's Half-Life 2. Without the Havok Physics engine, we might not have enjoyed the thrilling innovation known as the gravity gun or the delicious physics-based puzzles of the classic title.
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