Google swoops for another social studio?

Google is said to have acquired social games group Jambool in what is widely believed to be part of a covert operation to become a serious Facebook rival.

The search engine giant has acquired the San Francisco-based company in a deal worth up to $75 million, claims a TechCrunch report.

The move follows reports last week of Google buying social games developer Slide in a $182m deal.

And any grand plan from Google won’t come without a fight. Facebook is racing to find a star games industry exec that will broker deals with publishers and development studios.

For the full story, head over to Develop.