Viacom to Sell Off Harmonix - The UpStream

Viacom to Sell Off Harmonix

posted Sunday Nov 14, 2010 by Nicholas DiMeo

Viacom to Sell Off Harmonix

With Rock Band 3 and Dance Central being extremely successful, it makes total sense for parent company Viacom to sell off game developer Harmonix, right? No? Well, that's what is happening in the world of Viacom.

Viacom purchased Harmonix for $175 million in 2006, back when the company was still making Guitar Hero games and before they went the way of Rock Band. Nobody in Harmonix had commented on why, other than a report saying that,

Viacom also announced that it plans to sell Harmonix, which developed the Rock Band music video game franchise. Accordingly, the Company reclassified the business as a discontinued operation.

But news since then has been discovered. For Viacom's stance on the matter, hit the break.

Viacom has commented on the statement of Harmonix being a discontinued operation.

As announced this morning, Viacom plans to sell Harmonix and have reclassified Harmonix to a discontinued operation. However, this announcement does not affect the ongoing work at the studio as they continue to support Rock Band and Dance Central. Viacom's decision to exit this business reflects our strategy of focusing entirely on what they do best: make great branded entertainment content and deliver it through a variety of platforms. Harmonix has and will continue to create terrific video games. But for us, it is about focus. Viacom is in discussions with several potential buyers and will continue to fully support the business until a sale is completed.

Nobody is speaking up on who is going to possibly purchase the company, but it is quite surprising after the success that Harmonix has created in recent years.

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