Will RockYou’s Acquisition of Playdemic Keep Them Up to Pace?
Social gaming runner-up RockYou just made it to the headlines today via the acquisition of UK-based social game developer, Playdemic. Enclosed in the deal is that Playdemic will operate autonomously as Playdemic—which will now be classified as a RockYou Studio.
After the announcement, Jonathan Knight, RockYou’s SVP of Games welcomes Playdemic into their backyard. He said, “At RockYou we place great value on the art of game-making, and we’re elated to welcome the Playdemic team into our studio system. Playdemic will retain their culture and creative control, as they bring their significant game industry experience to making social games of today and tomorrow.”
Playdemic is set to develop games for popular social network Facebook, an area where RockYou really made its name. Currently, this company has the renowned title Gourmet Ranch under its belt, and is expected to bring in more exciting games to the social network. This acquisition just placed RockYou in the map of social gaming competition, and gives it more ammo to challenge the formidable leader in the industry, Zynga.
In an article by Maria Deutscher, she took note that in addition to growth of social gaming seen to reach the $1 billion dollar-mark this year, is also changing on the Zynga front—which made eight acquisitions in 2010 and is one of the most visible items in last year’s tech news and deals. The company was pretty aggressive for these past few months, and has invaded Facebook and other social and casual gaming sites. In fact, it pushed for a larger mobile presence through its purchase of Newtoy. a Texas-based company that creates games for iOS devices. Zynga also expanded globally, with a localized launch in China and another acquisition of Conduit Labs—a Boston-based social gaming developer.
In a similar report, RockYou says “…it will try and grow the user base for Gourmet Ranch, Playdemic’s first title that is currently playable on Facebook with half a million monthly active users. In the game, players can grow organic crops, raise animals and prepare and serve meals to their friends.” This transaction is a testament that RockYou is serious in taking the next bold steps to keep up with the pace of the competition.
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