Real to create separate casual unit

RealNetworks is planning to spin its casual games business into a separate company in a bid to maintain leadership in the space – and may even consider an IPO for the new venture.

The news was announced last night as part of Real’s Q1 financials, in which first-quarter profit was $2.4m, down from $40m a year previous.

In a stark contrast to the company’s overall results, Real revealed that the games business’ revenues In the first quarter of 2008 rose 33 per cent year on year to $31.8 million. For the 2007 financial year, games revenue overall was $108.5 million, up 26 per cent over 2006.

For the full story, visit Develop’s new sister site CasualGaming.biz.