VR publisher nDreams has acquired Shooty Fruity developer Near Light for an undisclosed fee. The two companies have been working together for over five years, with nDreams having published two of the Brighton-based studio's VR projects, Perfect and Shooty Fruity.

Near Light will join nDream's three existing development studios and will continue working on VR and AR projects in a bid to "shape the future" of the medium.

The studio was co-founded in 2016 by Paul Mottram and Ben Hebb, who previously worked on projects within the EyeToy, Play, SingStar, and Guitar Hero franchises. Both co-founders will remain at Near Light following the acquisition.

"We are hugely excited to be deepening nDreams' relationship with Near Light after many years of fruitful partnerships," said nDreams CDO, Tom Gillo, in a press release. "Acquiring the studio will allow us to collaborate even more closely on medium-defining games, not to mention bringing Ben and Paul’s 20+ years of industry experience into the nDreams family to strengthen our own expertise."

News of the purchase comes less than a year after nDreams netted $35 million to accelerate its investments in both internal development and third-party publishing. The company said its latest deal is a sign of its "rapid and ambitious expansion."

The move also comes a few months after nDreams permanently increased wages to help employees deal with the ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK.