Epic Games now has a full development presence in the U.K.: The company recently acquired independent developer Pitbull Studio, and that firm will henceforth be known as Epic Games U.K., Epic announced today.

Founded in 2009, Pitbull Studio has worked rather close with Epic as an Unreal Engine partner for a long time, so the move to acquire them isn't exactly a shocker. The company's head office is in Sunderland, U.K., and the studio also maintains smaller branches in Leamington Spa and Guildford. According to a press release from Epic Games, lead programmer James Golding recently moved from the company's headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, to Guildford, where he will lead an expansion of that office.

"Becoming Epic Games U.K. was the next logical step in our relationship with Epic," said Robert Troughton, Pitbull's general manager. "We're looking forward to expanding our amazing team here in the U.K."

"Setting up a bespoke Epic presence here and fully utilizing the Pitbull team as part of that enables us to support Unreal Engine 4 developers across Europe on an entirely new level," said Mike Gamble, Epic's European territory manager. Gamble has worked in the U.K. since 2011, leading Epic's licensing efforts across Europe.