Today, Electronic Arts announced they have purchased PopCap Games, makers of Bejewled and Plants vs. Zombies, for over $750 million in cash and stock options.
“EA and PopCap are a compelling combination,” said EA’s CEO John Riccitiello. “PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries and more channels.”
When asked why EA, PopCap CEO David Roberts said “We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games. By working with EA, we’ll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience.”
With games installed on over 150 million devices worldwide and everywhere from Facebook to iPhone & Android, PopCap Games is one of the largest selling casual game developers on the planet. EA’s purchase gives PopCap a greater ability to work in digital platforms, which in the last calendar year made up around 80 percent of PopCap’s revenue.
PopCap is a great company that blurs the line between casual and "real" games. Like the financial backing, don't like EA.
Giant corporate purchases, blah.