Playdemic is a premier mobile gaming company founded in 2010 and known for its popular, award-winning game Golf Clash. Golf Clash is available on iOS, Android, and Facebook and allows players to compete with each other around the world in real time. Golf Clash is one of the leading mobile games in the US and UK and has more than 80 million downloads globally to date. The game has been honored with numerous industry awards, including winner of the BAFTA Games Mobile Game of the Year (2018), Mobile Games Awards Game of the Year (2018), PocketGamer.biz Game of the Year (2017) and The Independent Game Developers' Association (TIGA) Awards Game of the Year (2017).
“We have enjoyed working with the talented team at Playdemic as they have grown Golf Clash beyond all expectations into a hit mobile game with tremendous longevity,” said David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Games. “While we have great respect for the Playdemic team, our decision to divest is a part of our overall strategy to build games based on Warner Bros. storied franchises.”
“Playdemic is a team of true innovators, and we’re thrilled to have them join the Electronic Arts family,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “In addition to the ongoing success of Golf Clash, the talent, technology and expertise of Playdemic will be a powerful combination with our teams and IP at Electronic Arts. This is the next step building on our strategy to expand our sports portfolio and accelerate our growth in mobile to reach more players around the world with more great games and content.”
The acquisition of Playdemic is part of EA’s mobile growth strategy focused on delivering exciting new experiences for EA’s network of nearly half a billion players around the world. Playdemic’s portfolio and talent will be a significant addition to EA’s mobile growth engine. The acquisition will add to EA’s mobile portfolio of more than 15 top live services across fast-growing genres, including lifestyle, casual, sports, and mid-core games.
Playdemic’s experienced executive team has worked together since 2014, with strong expertise in mobile games and a proven track record of success in clash games. Playdemic’s expertise in building mobile games beloved by players around the world, combined with EA’s industry-leading IP, presents opportunities to expand the clash mechanic to other franchises and for future growth in mobile experiences.
“We founded Playdemic with a focus on creating highly engaging and innovative game experiences. Our success with Golf Clash has proven our approach and demonstrated the ability of our incredibly talented teams to develop and operate best in class mobile games,” said Paul Gouge, CEO of Playdemic. “Joining EA, one of the most successful games companies in the world, is an important next step in our journey and we are excited to continue to develop both Golf Clash and new titles as part of the EA family.”
Under the terms of the agreement, EA will acquire Playdemic for $1.4 billion in cash. The purchase price for the transaction is subject to customary adjustments, and will be paid in cash at closing and retained by AT&T. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The remaining Warner Bros. Games portfolio is included in the recently announced WarnerMedia-Discovery transaction and will become part of the combined media and entertainment company after the expected close of that transaction.