As gaming operators continue to forge partnership deals with content providers and sports entities, Penn National Gaming is going in a new direction.
The company announced Monday that it is forming Penn Game Studios, an in-house content developer, to create exclusive icasino content for customers. To launch PGS, Penn National is acquiring game developer HitPoint Studios and its spinoff real-money gaming company, LuckyPoint.
Penn National CEO Jay Snowden called the creation of Penn Game Studios an important step in Penn National’s evolution as an omnichannel provider of retail and interactive gaming.
“We will now have the ability to create exclusive content for our audiences, further leverage the Barstool Sports brand and our database of 20 million myChoice customers, and create cross-marketing opportunities with our brick-and-mortar facilities,” Snowden said in a statement,
Located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and founded in 2008, HitPoint has created games for companies including Microsoft, EA/PopCap, Disney, Google, and NBCUniversal. Its titles include Dreamworks Dragons Adventure World Explorer and Stars Wars: The Last Jedi Porg Invasion.
LuckyPoint, spun out from HitPoint in 2019, focuses on real-money game development, including traditional casino table games and slots, and retro-style arcade and puzzle games for desktop and mobile devices.
“We look forward to adding our creativity, design, and engineering skills to an already well-accomplished team at Penn National,” said HitPoint CEO Paul Hake in a statement.
After the acquisition is finalized, 30 HitPoint and LuckyPoint employees, including designers, artists, and engineers, will be integrated into Penn National’s wholly-owned interactive division, Penn Interactive.
Penn National currently has 41 gaming and racetrack properties in 19 states. In a partnership with Barstool Sports, it provides online sports betting in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois through the Barstool Sportsbook app.
Penn National’s acquisition of HitPoint and LuckyPoint is expected to close soon, pending satisfaction of closing conditions.
