Playdom Resumes Acquisition Spree With Hive7 Purchase

Just a few days after the company announced a new $33 million in venture capital financing, Playdom reveals it has acquired social game developer Hive7, previously based in Palo Alto. Though terms for the purchase were not disclosed, Hive7 says it has already moved its studio into Playdom's Mountain View headquarters and is already working on its next title. Founded in 2005, the developer has released titles like Knighthood, Youtopia, Kick-Off, and Sindicate across social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo. Playdom has acquired and invested in over a half-dozen studios since it secured $76 million in a round of financing last November, including 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. Thanks to its rapid expansion, the company now has studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Eugene (Oregon), Boulder (Colorado), Chapel Hill (North Carolina), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and in South Asia. On Facebook alone, Playdom's titles have attracted more than 36 million monthly active users, according to figures from AppData. "We welcome Hive7's employees and contractors to our family," says Playdom CEO John Pleasants. "Our studio structure enables us to add stand-alone development start-ups like Hive7 to our portfolio without disrupting the cohesion and collegiality that made it such a special place to work. He adds, "By integrating with our innovative central services and business intelligence functions, Hive7 will be positioned to develop deeper and more compelling games."