PopCap Games Secures $22.5 Million Investment

PopCap Games, the company behind popular pick-up-and-play games like Bejeweled, Bookworm, and Plants vs. Zombies, announced on Tuesday that it secured $22.5 million in its first-ever funding round. PopCap CEO David Roberts said in a statement that the new working capital "lets [PopCap] be more aggressive with our expansion into social media and reaching new geographies." PopCap also said the funding could be used towards "potential acquisitions." Meritech Capital Partners led the funding round, which also included tech industry investors Larry Bowman and John McCaw. PopCap said the funding represents a minority stake in the company, which "has maintained profitability since its inception" 10 years ago. The Seattle-based game maker employs over 240 full-time staff across several locations worldwide. Meritech managing director Rob Ward said, "While other video game companies put out more flops than hits, PopCap has never produced a game that wasn’t a critical and commercial success. Taking the company’s boutique development style and universally appealing product lineup to the top of the video game food chain will be an exciting, potentially industry-changing, experience and we’re happy to be a part of it." Prior to this first-time funding round, PopCap founders "previously diversified their holdings by selling some stock to board member Bowman," the company said. PopCap CEO Roberts added, "We’ve been pursued by investment firms for many years and have resisted taking outside capital, but we liked Meritech’s style and believe there’s a tremendous opportunity to grow and evolve our business at a time when many other video game firms are retrenching."