What you need to know
- Electronic Arts announced it's acquiring Playdemic for $1.4 billion.
- Playdemic is a mobile game developer that previously created Golf Clash.
- EA, the publisher behind the Sims, Battlefield, and Madden titles, is attempting to expand into the mobile games business.
Electronic Arts today announced it has acquired mobile game studio Playdemic for $1.4 billion. Playdemic, which was previously owned by Warner Games Studio, is the developer behind Golf Clash. The acquisition is part of EA's previously stated intention to grow its mobile business, and it's the second such acquisition the company has made so far this year.
Playdemic was founded in 2010 and released Golf Clash in 2017. The game now boasts more than 80 million downloads, according to EA's announcement. Playdemic will not only be working on that game in the future, but new games for EA, as CEO Paul Gouge said, "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."
Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, said of the team: "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."
This is the second mobile developer EA has acquired as part of its growth strategy. It bought Glu Mobile earlier this year for $2.1 billion, the developer behind games like Kim Kardashian's Hollywood, Restaurant Dash with Gordon Ramsey, and Disney's Sorcerer's Arena. EA said in the announcement that Glu would "add significant scale to Electronic Arts' mobile games business." CEO Wilson also said of Glu: "Mobile continues to grow as the biggest gaming platform in the world, and with the addition of Glu's games and talent, we're doubling the size of our mobile business."
