Quebec-based Beenox Studios has been bought out by Activision, in a move designed to bolster the company's development capabilities.

Activision are no strangers to the 32 person team that make up Beenox, having worked with the development studio on games like Shrek 2, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, and the forthcoming movie tie-in, Fantastic Four. The studio is said to have "established itself as a leader in platform conversion technologies that allow for simultaneous multiplatform game development." Good news for the Cube then, which as we all know sometimes struggles with it's multi-format titles.

"We are excited about the talent and experience that Beenox brings to Activision," said Kathy Vrabeck, president of Activision Publishing. "Beenox's extensive porting background will be a key component of our console transition strategy by allowing us to focus our resources on next-generation technologies while continuing to develop games for current-generation systems."

Dee Brown, president and CEO of Beenox had this to say: "We are thrilled to partner with Activision and believe that this acquisition is a perfect fit for both companies. In particular, it will allow Beenox to continue to develop high-quality titles based on well-established brands." So no new franchises there then?