LEGO Digital Play buys ForthStar, the mobile studio from the Golf Clash founders

The Manchester team will develop new LEGO games, bringing experience running mobile titles over the long haul.

LEGO Digital Play has acquired ForthStar, the studio Paul Gouge and Alex Rigby started after building Playdemic, the company behind Golf Clash. The executives confirmed the deal to GamesBeat on November 9. About 30 people are joining LEGO Digital Play, and the studio will stay in Manchester. Gouge takes over as head of games across LEGO Digital Play, while Rigby will lead ForthStar.

The deal gives LEGO a team that knows what happens after launch: how to run events, keep players coming back and support a mobile game for years. That experience will go into games LEGO Digital Play intends to own. The companies kept the deal price private and have yet to reveal ForthStar’s first LEGO game.