Game publisher Kabam acquired TapZen and Magic Pixel Games, two Los Angeles-based games studios.
The deals will expand Kabam’s global presence directly into the entertainment capital, will bolster its console quality development experience and will add industry veteran Mike Verdu (TapZen) as a new executive on the Kabam team.
Verdu founded TapZen in 2012 and worked with Magic Pixel Games to create the mobile strategy game This Means War!. As part of Kabam, both TapZen and Magic Pixel will continue to build out the company’s strategy game lineup, which already includes franchises Kingdoms of Camelot, Dragons of Atlantis, and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, each of which have generated more than $100 million in revenue.
The terms of the transactions were not disclosed. TapZen and Magic Pixel will be merged into a new Kabam branded Los Angeles studio near Culver City.
Led by Co-Founder and CEO Kevin Chou, Kabam creates, develops, and publishes games that are available on mobile devices via its own dedicated channel in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore. Valued at more than $1 billion, the company has been profitable since 2012.
It is backed by Alibaba, Canaan Partners, Google, MGM, Intel, Pinnacle Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Warner Brothers and others.
The acquisition of TapZen and Magic Pixel bring to nine the number of studios Kabam has acquired since 2010. Earlier acquisitions include of Phoenix Age (2014), Exploding Barrel Games (2013), Gravity Bear, Fearless Studios, Wild Shadow and Balanced World Studio (2012), and Wonderhill (2010).
FinSMEs
08/01/2015