|
Playfish, currently a property of Electronic Arts, was a developer of free-to-play social network games. Playfish was founded in 2007 by Kristian Segerstråle, Sebastien de Halleux, Sami Lababidi and Shukri Shammas. It has now closed. Playfish in the past attracted up to 55 million users a month, with over 37 million users coming from Facebook members. In October 2008, they secured US$17 million in venture capital funding from Accel Partners and Index Ventures.
Who has the Biggest Brain? was the company's first hit. It was one of the first Facebook games to attract millions of daily players, and allowed the company to raise funding necessary to produce other hits. The company makes money by selling virtual goods inside its games.
On Monday, November 9, 2009, Electronic Arts announced their acquisition of Playfish for US$400 million. The acquisition was initially for $275 million cash and $25 million in equity—with a further $100 million in performance-based bonuses available if the company hits targets set by EA executives. As of February 2013, all four of the original founders have left the company, with Lababidi and Shammas setting up educational developer Mindshapes, and Segerstråle returning to the world of startups.
|
