“Sales of casual games both online and at retail have exploded in recent months and we intend to harness the existing growth potential in the US as well as position ourselves ready for the anticipated boom to come in Europe,” said Lou Fawcett, Head of Casual Games, Eidos. “But it’s not just PC games that we’re focusing on, it’s also console and mobile games that have a broad appeal. We’re aiming to establish SoGoPlay as THE flagship casual games brand.”

In 2005, casual games accounted for 21% of all online gaming revenues (DFC Intelligence) and with approximately 60 million casual game downloads per month, consumer demand and the opportunity to capitalise on this global market is far from “casual”. The Casual Games Association estimates worldwide casual games revenues to be worth $2 billion by 2008.

Titles currently in development include the recently announced SPY-Q and Nervous Brickdown for Nintendo DS and Merry-Go-Round Dreams for PC download. A number of as yet unannounced titles for the PS2 and Wii will follow in the autumn.