Playdom Adds $33 Million To Its Funding

Social game developer Playdom raised $33 million in venture capital financing from new backers Bessemer Venture Partners, New World Ventures, and Steamboat Ventures, the last of which is The Walt Disney Company's investment fund for digital media, consumer, and technology companies in the U.S. and Asia. This new round brings the total amount of funding raised by Playdom up to $76 million -- last November, the company picked up $43 million from New Enterprise Associates, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Norwest Venture Partners. Since that first round of financing, Playdom has acquired and invested in more than a half-dozen studios: Merscom (The Crazies), Trippert Labs (Fighter Jets), Offbeat Creations (Super Farkle), Three Melons (Bola!), Green Patch (Lil Farm Life), Argentinian firm MetroGames (Music Challenge), and most recently Acclaim. The Mountain View headquartered company has several popular titles across Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, and iPhone. Its titles, which include Social City, Sorority Life, Mobsters, Tiki Resort, and Treetopia, have attracted more than 36 million monthly active users on Facebook alone, according to figures from AppData. This new funding comes just a few weeks after Playdom revealed its plans to expand its European audience by localizing games for several countries in the region, starting with arcade-style soccer game Bola. The company intends to make its top titles available in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.