888 acquires Mytopia social games studio for US$18m
888 has bought the assets of the Mytopia social games studio, including all games, platforms and licences for providing content to social networks and smartphones, for US$18m.
888 has acquired the Mytopia social games development studio from Real Dice for US$18m.
888 chief executive Gigi Levy (pictured) said the assets would form the cornerstone of 888’s social gaming and mobile strategy. “The acquisition extends 888’s reach and market share in the fast growing social networks and smart mobile devices, such as iPhone and Android-powered handsets, and leaves us well positioned to take advantage of this growth.”
The operator will pay an initial US$12m plus US$6m based on meeting certain milestones related to the mobile and social network games prior to 31 December 2011, with the maximum consideration capped at US$48m.
Assets include Mytopia’s games studio developing social games for smartphones, mobile handsets and social networking platforms, its portfolio of games, as well as all platforms and licences for hosting and operating social games on social networks and mobile. Its mobile poker application available for smartphones including iPhone, Android and BlackBerry has been installed by more than 1m users, said 888 this morning.
Real Dice chief executive Guy Ben-Artzi, said: “Mytopia will thrive with 888’s infrastructure and expertise behind it and bring to 888 new revenue streams from virtual goods and microtransactions on social networks and mobile devices.”