Casual Gamer Chick: Popcap Officially Bought by EA

Electronic Arts has officially purchased casual games giant Popcap Games for a cool $650M plus $100M in stock. The acquisition had been first�rumored about three weeks ago.

According to Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello:

?EA and PopCap are a compelling combination. 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.?

Popcap Games became a casual gaming giant quickly after being founded in 2000, on the strength of�Bejeweled. From there, major games like�Peggle,�Bookworm and�Plants Vs. Zombies catapulted the company into a force to be reckoned with.

Electronic Arts had flirted with the casual games market with their EA Casual label, but it didn’t penetrate as EA thought it could have. With Popcap Games, they now have the premiere prize in the genre.

The acquisition becomes finalized in August.

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