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Image Metrics Acquires Character-FX to build realistic 3D game avatars

Image Metrics, a leading facial animation technology provider for video games and film (which recently animated over 100 characters in Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption), has announced today that it is expanding its scope by acquiring Character-FX, an avatar creation company founded by 3D animation pioneer John Riggs.

Character-FX is a toolset for use with Autodesk’s Maya and 3DS Max (two very commonly used tools at game studios). The toolset “helps to create character facial rigs using a proprietary automated weighting transfer system that rapidly shifts a character’s facial motion for incredibly life-like movements.” Image Metrics raised $8 million in a reverse merger in March. See Industry Gamers for more.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.