Electronic Arts will buy Warner Bros. Games’ Playdemic mobile games studio — developer of popular title “Golf Clash” — for $1.4 billion in cash, the companies announced.
AT&T said the remaining Warner Bros. Games portfolio will become part of the recently announced WarnerMedia-Discovery merged entity after that deal closes, expected in mid-2022.
Founded in 2010, Playdemic is known for “Golf Clash,” which lets players worldwide compete with each other in real time. “Golf Clash” is one of the top mobile games in the U.S. and U.K. with more than 80 million downloads globally to date, according to the company.
For AT&T, the divestiture of Playdemic will help the telco to continue to pay down its significant debt load, ahead of the WarnerMedia spinoff and merger with Discovery. The sale price for Playdemic, subject to customary adjustments, will be paid in cash at closing and retained by AT&T.
“We have enjoyed working with the talented team at Playdemic as they have grown ‘Golf Clash’ beyond all expectations into a hit mobile game with tremendous longevity,” David Haddad, president of Warner Bros. Games, said in announcing the pact. “While we have great respect for the Playdemic team, our decision to divest is a part of our overall strategy to build games based on Warner Bros. storied franchises.”
In 2017, Warner Bros. Games (formerly known as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) announced that its TT Games label had acquired U.K.-based Playdemic. Originally, the plan was for Playdemic to develop new Lego mobile games, but the studio ultimately shut down its Lego titles to focus on “Golf Clash.”
For EA, the acquisition of Playdemic is part of the game company’s mobile growth strategy. Playdemic’s portfolio and talent will be a “significant addition to EA’s mobile growth engine,” Electronic Arts said.
“Playdemic is a team of true innovators, and we’re thrilled to have them join the Electronic Arts family,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement. “In addition to the ongoing success of ‘Golf Clash,’ the talent, technology and expertise of Playdemic will be a powerful combination with our teams and IP at Electronic Arts.”
Playdemic CEO Paul Gouge commented, “We founded Playdemic with a focus on creating highly engaging and innovative game experiences… Joining EA, one of the most successful games companies in the world, is an important next step in our journey and we are excited to continue to develop both ‘Golf Clash’ and new titles as part of the EA family.”
LionTree served as financial adviser to AT&T in the sale of Playdemic to EA.
