Google acquires smartphone game controller company Green Throttle

While Google has been long rumored to be developing some kind of new set-top box, a recent acquisition might be pointing at the company’s interest in gaming outside of just software. Some may not remember the now defunct gaming platform Green Throttle Games with its Android game controller, but Google certainly does. The search giant has now confirmed that it has purchased Green Throttle Games, or at least a portion of the company. 

Rumors have been swirling that Google is going to jump into the home game console market with a set-top box. According to Pando Daily, Google has just snapped up a gaming company called “Green Throttle Games,” the producer of a gaming controller for Android. Green Throttle was created by some well-known players in the technology world. The founder of the company is Charles Huang, who also co-founded RedOctane (developer of the Guitar Hero series). The other two key employees were Matt Crowley and Karl Townsend, both long-term Palm employees. Green Throttle mysteriously shut down in November of last year, but judging by the LinkedIn profile timelines of Crowley and Townsend, the Google acquisition was the reason for the closure.