EA to acquire Australian gaming co. Firemint

The acquisition is expected to help boost EA's already prominent position in the mobile gaming field

Electronic Arts announced Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Melbourne-based mobile design studio Firemint, which is known for its mobile games for iPhone and iPad, so it will be joining EAi, EA’s mobile gaming platform.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999, Firemint developed over 30 games on commission from publishers before switching over to self-publishing original titles. These days, the company is best known for its hit mobile games Flight Control and Real Racing for iPhone and iPad. Real Racing, a 3D racecar game for iPhone in which you tip your iPhone to direct the car, launched in May 2008, and the following year the company released Flight Control, a game in which you tap the screen to guide planes in for a landing. Flight Control has become one of the most successful iPhone games to date, with more than 4 million downloads.

“The Firemint team is remarkable for its critical and commercial success,” said Barry Cottle, Executive Vice President and General Manger of EA Interactive, in a statement. “Having them as part of EAi will accelerate our position as worldwide leader in game development for mobile devices and online gaming platforms.”

The acquisition follows EA’s recent purchase of Mobile Post Production, a company that specializes in cross-platform development and porting of games for smartphones. Cottle believes that the combination of Firemint’s creative talent and MPP’s technical expertise, along with EAi’s studio teams, will result in the development of top-of-the-line high-quality games for smartphones, mobile phones, tablets, and other devices.

While neither company has disclosed Firemint’s purchase price, it was likely more than comfortable for EA, which has had a nice chunk of walking-around-money after posting GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion in 2010. The company had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. 

The acquisition is expected to close within the next four weeks.

Image source: Firemint.com