Razorworks, an internal developer at Empire Interactive, has been purchased by Rebellion, an up-and-coming super developer based out of the UK, known for Sniper Elite, Rogue Trooper and its Alien VS Predator games. Razorworks, known for a variety of Ford Racing games, was in the process of being shut down.

The Razorworks studio has been under a watchful eye for some time, after Rebellion bought Strangelight, the Starship Troopers developer, from Empire Interactive in 2006.

Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion said “We heard some very good things about the set-up, the team and their approach, which is very similar to our own. So, when we had the opportunity to buy the studio, we seized it with both hands.”

Chris Kingsley, CTO of Rebellion added, “The Razorworks purchase is in line with our ambitious expansion plans. The Razorworks team will be joining us in the Oxford studio and will bring a raft of experience to our current and new projects. Razorworks will also be the focal point in expanding Rebellion knowledge base and portfolio.”

This is especially good news as times are tough on UK developers, with several studios closing in the last year, such as Stormfront Studios, EA’s UK development studio and Sega’s UK-based Racing Studio, to name a few.