Zynga snaps up female-focussed casual developer Wild Needle
Wild Needle backer Rick Thompson is on a roll
Mobile publisher Zynga has acquired female-focussed casual games developer Wild Needle for an undisclosed price.
The startup, backed by Playdom co-founder Rick Thompson, was formed in 2010 to develop casual mobile games for a female audience.
Its debut title, Shoptown Hero, a free-to-play retail sim, was released in March. It was pulled from the App Store three weeks ago.
Where the wild things areTechCrunch is reporting that the deal was a 'talent-sized' acquisition, suggesting Zynga paid anywhere between $5 to $20 million for Wild Needle.
A good day at the office, then, but much less than the $180 million Zynga splashed out to buy developer OMGPOP, where the IP rights to Draw Something was the major attraction.
Other recent acquisitions by Zynga include GameDoctors, Page44 Studios, HipLogic, and Astro Ape Studios earlier this year.
Wild Needle is Rick Thompson's second exit in recent times. Earlier this month saw the acquisition of Funzio, which he also backed, and which GREE swallowed for a cool $210 million.
[source: TechCrunch]
