It’s true: EA buys Playfish

Electronic Arts has confirmed plans to buy social games firm Playfish for over $250m.

The news confirms reports from last month that the games publisher was acquiring the Facebook experts.

Playfish will operate within EA Interactive, a division of EA focused on the web and on wireless – EA has acquired the firm for approximately US$275 million in cash and approximately $US25 million in equity retention arrangement.

"Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space," said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Interactive.

"EAi has been successfully leading the charge for EA, and with the addition of proven expertise from Playfish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we’re moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of cross-platform social entertainment."

Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and Co-founder of Playfish added: "The industry is undergoing dramatic transformation and joining EA is the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale," said

"EAi’s vision and entrepreneurial culture are consistent with our own, and together, we are in position to be the company that defines new and innovative connected experiences that will change the way people play games."