The company behind virtual reality game Second Life has quietly sounded off its recent acquisition of gaming outfit LittleTextPeople. Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life, is perhaps best known for the game because it won an Emmy Award during the peak of its existence.

But as with many social experiences back then, the entry of Facebook proved a deal breaker as people opted for the the real world of social networks as well as simple social games such as Farmville and the likes. It should be remembered that Second Life was a very heavy application and required some immense processing power on the user side to even load.

“LittleTextPeople brings a depth and breadth of AI and interactive story development expertise that is a great fit for Linden Lab as we launch multiple new products,” said Rod Humble, Linden Lab’s relatively new CEO. “The result of this investment will be a new type of digital entertainment that modernizes the novel as a shared story-telling experience.”

This new acquisition however shows that Linden Labs is gearing up for a second stab at the world of gaming. The newly acquired company has an engineering pedigree geared to simulate and model social practices as well as specific personalities.

This may point in the direction of new stand-alone projects that Linden Labs may be releasing in the coming months. This is a departure from previous acquisitions by the company that mainly focused on buying companies in order to include those companies’ technologies into the Second Life platform. Perhaps we may be witnessing the rebirth and remaking of a gaming giant after all.

About Daniel Mbure

Daniel is a writer, strategist and serial tech entrepreneur. Follow Daniel on Twitter @thespianic