Zynga buys Peak Games rights for $100m as it turns new profits

Zynga has made quite the turnaround in recent months. Buoyed by the recent posting of profit, the mobile company has decided to acquire the rights to card games made by Turkish studio Peak Games for $100 million, which is expected to be completed before the end of Q4 2017.

Peak Games started in 2010 and has been making puzzle games for the mobile market with popular titles including Toy Blast and Toon Blast bolstering player numbers in the US. The company boasts over 500 million players and the deal, according to Bloomberg, only sees the copyrights for some games rather than an acquisition of the studio as a whole. As part of the deal games including Spades Plus, Gin Rummy Plus, Okey Plus will be part of the deal.

"We’re excited to welcome this talented, Istanbul-based development team to the Zynga family," a statement from Zynga said. "Combined with the recent growth of Zynga Poker and our Solitaire titles, at closing, the addition of Peak Games’ mobile card games will give Zynga the world’s largest portfolio of casual card games."

The move is the biggest for current CEO Frank Gibeau since he took over Zynga, a company that has seen quite a dramatic restructuring in the last twelve months. Last month, Zynga announced it was closing its NaturalMotion office in Oxford and last year it started efforts to buy back over $200 million in company shares.

The acquisition of Peak Games is a good sign that the tide is turning at Zynga, which posted its first profit this past quarter for well over a year. Revenue was up 23 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, a figure that was earned via some of its longest running games,

"Our quarterly performance was due to the continued strength of our live operations anchored by our forever franchises," explained CEO Gibeau during a Zynga earnings call. "Zynga Poker, CSR2 and Words With Friends. Specifically, our strategy of innovating and growing our franchises through bold beats continues to pay off.

"[Zynga Poker‘s] results were driven by the team’s continued focus on innovating on two of Zynga Poker’s most popular bold beads, challenges and leagues. CSR2 had another great quarter driven by a series of bold beats and exclusive events for players.