Playtech makes casual gaming play with £14m YoYo Games acquisition
Software supplier to pay $16.4m, plus a $5.25m earn-out, to acquire games technology firm as part of a "three-pronged" approach to the casual gaming market
Playtech has ramped-up its move into the casual gaming sector with the acquisition of games technology company YoYo Games in a deal worth US$21.7m (£14.1m).
The deal will see Playtech acquire YoYo, owner of cross-platform casual game development technology GameMaker: Studio, as part of what the firm described as its “three-pronged strategy” for the casual gaming space.
Under the terms of the agreement, Playtech will pay $16.4m, of which 30% will be held in escrow for up to three years, for the Dundee-based firm as well as an additional earn-out consideration of $5.25m.
YoYo Games owns the GameMaker: Studio (GMS) which enables developers to create games using a single code base and then publish across multiple platforms including iOS, Android, HTML5, PlayStation and Windows.
The acquisition will see Playtech increase its casual gaming exposure which already includes internal games development team Plamee, which was launched in early 2014.
“Playtech’s directors believe that the continued development of the GMS technology within the company will enable it to extend beyond the current games developers base, and will fit well with its in-house casual team,” the firm said in a statement.
“This acquisition will enable the company to further diversify its business, benefiting from a combined B2B/B2C offering focused on a strong and growing segment of the wider gaming market,” the statement added.
YoYo Games was founded in 2006 by current CEO Sandy Duncan and claims its flagship GMS product has over 750,000 developers currently utilising the game technology.