14 DAY TRIAL // Eidos Interactive announced it has reached an agreement to acquire mobile games and content developer Rockpool Games and its two sister companies; Ironstone Partners and SoGoPlay. Under the agreement, Eidos will acquire the Rockpool's Manchester studios along with 36 staff members who will continue to work on a number of games that are currently in development. All three companies will become an integral part of the Eidos New Media division.
Rockpool Games has built a serious reputation as an independent mobile content developer and was a finalist in the Mobile Entertainment Awards "Best Developer" category. Many of their recent game developments have received praises by the press including a series of ten-out-of-ten scores in the last twelve months. Rockpool has been entrusted to develop mobile content for some of the most-important brands in the sector, including Worms, MotoGP, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Toca Race Driver.
Ironstone Partners is a licensing company which owns an extensive portfolio of Intellectual Property Rights and has operated primarily in the computer and video games, toy, electronics and mobile media markets. Ironstone has licensing relationships across many sectors and manages the Epyx back catalog of classic video games alongside some of the world's most-recognized brands including Top Trumps, Withit and Commodore.
SoGoPlay is a developer and publisher of games for the casual gaming market. SoGoPlay works with licensed IP and creates its own brands and concepts and publishes them simultaneously via its own gaming portal and well-known gaming websites.
"We believe that the global market for mobile games is set to grow considerably over the next few years from around $3 billion in 2006 to $10 billion in 2009, and that casual games are also becoming increasingly important. Rockpool's breadth of activity, including not only mobile games but casual PC games, fits well with Eidos' strategy to expand the company's business in this direction and will strengthen our position in these consistently growing markets," said Jane Cavanagh, CEO of Eidos.