One of Twisted Pixel's exclusive games for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft announced Wednesday that it has acquired indie game developer Twisted Pixel Games, an exclusive developer of games for the Xbox 360.

The Austin, Texas-based game studio, best known for games like The Gunstringer, Splosion Man and Comic Jumper, will now be folded into the Microsoft Studios unit to help develop future games for the Xbox 360 platform.

“Twisted Pixel has an incredible track record of innovative, critically acclaimed, and most importantly, fun, games,” said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios, in a statement. “Microsoft Studios is home to cutting-edge entertainment experiences, and the incredible creativity of the Twisted Pixel team will help drive further innovation around Kinect and Xbox LIVE.”

Terms of the deal weren't released, but the five-year-old studio will remain in Austin, said Twisted Pixel co-founder and CEO Michael Wilford. He added that the acquisition will allow the company to make even better and richer games for Xbox fans.

“It is really exciting for us to solidify our long-standing relationship with Microsoft Studios, who we consider to be the leader in digital distribution and creating new innovations in gaming like Xbox LIVE and Kinect,” said Wilford.

Microsoft will take a more hands-off approach with Twisted Pixel, reports Joystiq. Microsoft's Spencer told Joystiq the gaming division has learned a lot from its past rocky acquisitions -- notably Bungie Studios, which was acquired and absorbed into Microsoft, but left the partnership after several rough years.

"I can honestly say we've become better at working with partners and keeping them what they are," he said. "In the beginning, it was 'everybody's got to move to Redmond, kind of integrate completely into the Microsoft process,' and that doesn't always work for every culture. I think you have to keep to the core of 'What is this partnership about?'"