Rollic, a Zynga subsidiary, buys the casual game developer Popcore

Zynga announced today that their subsidiary, Rollic games, has completed the acquisition of hypercasual company Popcore games, the financial terms of which were not disclosed. The move is expected to improve Zynga’s position in the hypercasual gaming market and highlight Rollic’s relevance in that role.

Burak Vardal, Rollic’s CEO, spoke on the acquisition “Popcore’s dedication to rapid experimentation and nimble development matches perfectly with the values and processes we live by at Rollic and I am thrilled to welcome them into our family. Combining allows us to build more gaming experiences that emphasise meaningful, lasting engagement. Furthermore, our mutual user base with Popcore will represent a great combination of new players and long-term retaining users.”

Take-Two is the key to Zynga’s acquisition

The acquisition of Zynga by Take-Two Interactive, and the associated significant increase in Take-mobile Two’s revenue, is undoubtedly a factor in the agreement, as both Zynga and Take-Two look to expand their investments in the hypercasual industry. As stated by Vardal, Rollic will broaden its audience by including games created by Popcore, several of which have reached the top of the download rankings, into their collection. Rollic’s hypercasual repertoire will benefit from Popcore’s experience with live services and in-game events, which will assist update engagement patterns.

Johannes Heinze, co-founder of Popcore, remarked on the transaction and how their assets and experience will benefit Rollic in the future. “Our teams rigorously test our games, evolving them based on in-depth data analytics to provide entertainment that balances the accessibility of hyper-casual with the lasting engagement of casual gaming. This deal will combine our specific brand of ad-driven, free-to-play mobile titles with Rollic’s global marketing expertise and Zynga’s history of live services to build the next generation of mobile games.”

The Turkish mobile gaming sector is expanding and has the potential to become a world leader in mobile gaming. Another acquisition occurred recently when Matchingham Games purchased two titles from Turkish-based Pow Games as part of their ongoing cooperation.