Develop reports that Havok is to be acquired by Intel for an undisclosed sum.

The middleware company's new owner said the move will let developers working in games and digital animation "take advantage of Intel's innovation and technology leadership".

Havok's tools, which cover Physics, Animation and character-focused Behavior modules, are widely used across the industry by a number of independent studios, helping power games like BioShock, Half Life 2, Oblivion, Crackdown and MotorStorm, and used for effects in a variety of movies.

In July the company was named Best Tools Provider at the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Earlier this month it released version five of its tools.

Intel is the world's largest computer chip manufacturer.

Renee J. James, vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group, said that although the news may surprise Havok customers, there would be no change to how the firm is operated.

Havok will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel but continue to be run as an independent business.

"Havok will operate its business as usual, which will allow them to continue developing products that are offered across all platforms in the industry," she said.

James added that the company will be a boost of Intel as it becomes "a key element of Intel's visual computing and graphics efforts."

"This is a great fit for Havok products, customers and employees," added Havok CEO David O'Meara. "Intel's scale of technology investment and customer reach enable Havok with opportunities to grow more quickly into new market segments with new products than we could have done organically. We believe the winning combination is Havok's technology and customer know-how with Intel's scale. I am excited to be part of this next phase of Havok's growth."