Apple buys studio behind Sneaky Sasquatch, its first gaming studio purchase

Apple

Apple has quietly made its first-ever video game studio acquisition and it's all because of a sneaky little Sasquatch.

The tech giant has acquired RAC7, the small indie team behind Sneaky Sasquatch, a breakout hit on Apple Arcade. This two-person studio has been working with Apple since 2019, when Sneaky Sasquatch launched as one of the 71 original Apple Arcade titles. Since then, the quirky adventure game has become a favorite among young gamers, with regular updates keeping fans hooked.

“We love Sneaky Sasquatch and are excited that the 2-person RAC7 team has joined Apple to continue their work on it with us,” Apple told Digital Trends.

While this is Apple’s first-ever purchase of a game studio, the company says it’s not the start of a larger gaming acquisition spree. According to Apple, this was a “unique situation,” where the company simply saw an opportunity to support the game’s continued growth on Apple Arcade.

That said, the acquisition shows Apple’s ongoing commitment to Apple Arcade, its subscription gaming service. Since its 2019 launch, Arcade has quietly grown into a solid platform for casual and family-friendly games. Apple says it will continue to work with third-party developers of all sizes and has no plans to switch to in-house development for everything.

Still, the move underlines just how big Sneaky Sasquatch has become. Alex Rofman, Apple Arcade’s senior director, previously said it’s one of the platform’s most popular games — so popular, in fact, that some kids even ask for Sneaky Sasquatch-themed birthday parties.

Even if this is a one-off deal, it’s clear Apple sees value in keeping its biggest hits close. And for Sneaky Sasquatch fans, it likely means more fun content is on the way.