Well, it looks like the rumors were true, as EA announced its intentions to buy PopCap Games for about $750 million. Make no mistake, this move is all about mobile and social gaming.
TechCrunch originally reported that PopCap Games would be acquired for about $1 billion a few weeks ago and it looks like it was spot on, even if it didn’t name the acquirer. PopCap is responsible for mega-hit mobile games like Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled and it has proven that it can make money off of new platforms like mobile and social networks.
“EA and PopCap are a compelling combination,” said EA CEO John Riccitiello in a prepared statement. “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.”
This isn’t the first mobile-first acquisition for EA and I doubt it will be the last. The company spent $20 million to buy Chillingo last year and it knows that it will have to keep up with the wave of mobile and social gaming in order to succeed in the future.