Side Acquires Roboto Entertainment and Expands Its Games Art Operation in China

Games-services company Side has acquired Roboto Entertainment, expanding its art-production presence in China and adding another specialist team capable of supporting mobile and console developers. The financial terms have not been disclosed. Roboto Entertainment was founded by industry veteran Andrea Cordella and has contributed artwork to projects including mobile games such as Jam City's Cookie Jam Blast and titles associated with Storm8 and Play Infinity.

Following the acquisition, the operation will become Side Chengdu, giving Side a second major presence in China alongside its existing Shanghai activities. Cordella has been appointed both global head of art and head of the Chengdu studio. Side describes the acquisition as its most significant expansion of the art-services business since purchasing 5518 Studios in 2021.

Although this is not the sort of announcement that immediately gives players another game to download, acquisitions involving specialist art and outsourcing companies matter considerably to mobile development. Modern live-service games require enormous quantities of characters, environments, seasonal cosmetics, advertising artwork and ongoing content, frequently produced by distributed teams rather than one internal studio.

Strengthening production capacity in China also gives Side access to one of the world's largest and most active game-development markets. The acquisition arrives as international publishers increasingly look toward Chinese studios for both original games and production expertise. Apparently the invisible army behind modern mobile-game artwork is getting larger.