EA buys Golf Clash developer Playdemic from AT&T and WB Games for $1.4B

EA has acquired Golf Clash developer Playdemic from Warner Bros. Games and AT&T for $1.4 billion in cash. 

The deal comes a few months after EA completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of mobile developer and publisher Glu Mobile, and the publisher explained both purchases are designed to help the company make inroads into the mobile market. 

"The acquisition of Playdemic is part of EA’s mobile growth strategy focused on delivering exciting new experiences for EA's network of nearly half a billion players around the world," said the company in a press release.

"Playdemic's portfolio and talent will be a significant addition to EA's mobile growth engine. The acquisition will add to EA's mobile portfolio of more than 15 top live services across fast-growing genres, including lifestyle, casual, sports, and mid-core games."

Established in 2010 and based in the UK, Playdemic is described by EA as a "premier mobile gaming company." The studio is best known for working on Golf Clash, which has amassed over 80 million downloads to date across iOS, Android, and Facebook. 

WB Games' decision to sell the mobile studio comes shortly after its parent company AT&T penned a $43 billion deal with Discovery to spin-off WarnerMedia and Discovery into a new standalone company. 

It was reported the deal might affect some AT&T-owned studios, and now WB Games has explained the decision to divest through the Playdemic sale is part of its "overall strategy to build games based on Warner Bros. storied franchises."

AT&T said the remaining WB Games portfolio will be included in the WarnerMedia-Discovery deal, "and will become part of the combined media and entertainment company after the expected close of that transaction."