PopCap announces that a new game will be launched in the Bejeweled franchise. It will be called Bejeweled Twist and it is the first fresh addition to the series since 2004.

Initially, PopCap will only make the game available through its own site and the full unveiling will take place in Seattle, on October 27.

Since the Bejeweled series was initially released, back in 2000, the game has sold more than 25 million units, mostly via digital download, and has generated more than 300 million dollars in revenue. A stunning 350 million trial versions of Bejeweled games were downloaded. A lot of people are crediting the title with bringing the casual games market to the forefront of the videogames industry. PopCap also presented a few studies which detailed the positive effects which games such as Bejeweled had on people.

The new game is still kept under wraps and PopCap is not saying anything about the gameplay mechanics. We can probably expect something close to what Bejeweled offered, but without significant enough changes, players would be bored quickly.

Jason Kapalka, from PopCap, says that “The game will be immediately recognizable to Bejeweled fans, and as accessible as earlier titles in the series, but with far more depth and flexibility. Previous versions of Bejeweled appealed to a pretty broad audience, but we’re confident Bejeweled Twist will offer a compelling experience for everyone, from the novice gamer to the seriously hardcore player”.

In other words, after having developed the most addictive casual game in history and inspired numerous other companies to create clones of their game, PopCap is now getting ready to basically refine their crack recipe in order to create a new game which will be even more addictive. Expect studies in working productivity to register a big drop once Bejeweled Twist is launched in October.