Glu Mobile acquires Diner Dash developer PlayFirst

Glu Mobile, the San Francisco-based developer of free-to-play mobile titles like Eternal Warriors and Deer Hunter, will acquire Diner Dash developer and publisher PlayFirst, the company announced today.

Glu will pay for 3 million shares of the company's common stock, approximately worth $12 million, and will take on $3.55 million of PlayFirst's debt. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by the end of May 2014 where PlayFirst's studio will operate on a standalone basis and report directly to Glu's President of Studios, Matt Ricchetti.

Playfirst is the developer and publisher of numerous casual titles across Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Facebook, Nintendo DS, Xbox and Wii. The next game in its popular Diner Dash franchise will launch worldwide in Q4 2014 as a free-to-play mobile game, while new free-to-play versions of its Cooking Dash and Wedding Dash series are slated for release 2015.

"PlayFirst brings to Glu one of the largest casual gaming brands of all time, as well as the studio-DNA to take Glu's casual portfolio to ever greater heights," Glu CEO Niccolo de Mas said in a prepared statement. "We are delighted to add PlayFirst to the Glu family and look forward to the launch of a free-to-play Diner Dash mobile game in Q4 2014."

"Glu continues to search for globally-recognized IP that can be reinvigorated by leveraging our global studio and publishing organizations," said de Masi.

Glu Mobile, who realigned its workforce towards centralized GaaS functions last year, announced earlier this month that it will shut down GameSpy Technology on May 31. The service provides multiplayer functionality for dozens of games on consoles, computers and mobile devices. While many companies had already began phasing out GameSpy Technology services, several will still be affected by the shutdown including Bohemia Interactive and Rockstar Games.