Videogame giant Electronic Arts has swooped for Cheshire-headquartered Playdemic in a £1 billion deal.
Playdemic, founded in 2010 and led by CEO Paul Gouge, is the studio behind hit mobile game Golf Clash. It was acquired by TT Games, part of Warner Bros, in 2017 in a reported £30 million deal.
Golf Clash, which allows players on iOS, Android and Facebook to compete with each other around the world in real time, has amassed more than 80m downloads to date.
“We founded Playdemic with a focus on creating highly engaging and innovative game experiences. Our success with Golf Clash has proven our approach and demonstrated the ability of our incredibly talented teams to develop and operate best in class mobile games,” said CEO Gouge.
“Joining EA, one of the most successful games companies in the world, is an important next step in our journey and we are excited to continue to develop both Golf Clash and new titles as part of the EA family.”
The acquisition is part of EA’s mobile growth strategy focused on delivering exciting new experiences for EA’s network of nearly half a billion players around the world.
“Playdemic is a team of true innovators, and we’re thrilled to have them join the Electronic Arts family,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts.
“In addition to the ongoing success of Golf Clash, the talent, technology and expertise of Playdemic will be a powerful combination with our teams and IP at Electronic Arts.
“This is the next step building on our strategy to expand our sports portfolio and accelerate our growth in mobile to reach more players around the world with more great games and content.”
David Haddad, President of Warner Bros. Games, added: “We have enjoyed working with the talented team at Playdemic as they have grown Golf Clash beyond all expectations into a hit mobile game with tremendous longevity.
“While we have great respect for the Playdemic team, our decision to divest is a part of our overall strategy to build games based on Warner Bros. storied franchises.”
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