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By 23 June 2011 | Categories: news

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With the rising popularity of mobile games on tablets and smartphones, it's clear that the mobile and casual gaming sectors is going to be hot property in the coming years.

We've already seen EA snap up PlayFish studios, and now it appears that PopCap Games, one of the best known names in casual gaming is also up for sale.

According to sources over at TechCrunch, the studio is in the process of being acquired by an unnamed buyer, and the asking price is reported to be over $1 billion.

PopCap Games rose to fame with breakout hits such as the addictive Plants vs Zombies, and the puzzling Bejeweled, with the games available on virtually all mobile app stores.

The reported price of $1 billion raises some eyebrows though, as PopCap's yearly revenue is estimated to be around the $100 - $150 million mark, ten times less than the massive sum.

A final consensus on who the buyers might be has not yet been reached, but there's speculation that Zynga, the creators of Farmville, might be one of the interested parties.

TechCrunch's source claims the deal is too rich for the fledgling studio though, and reports have been coming in from “multiple sources” that the buyer is again monster studio Electronic Arts.

If true, the deal would be the largest in recent EA history, with the company previously acquiring PlayFish for $400 million back in 2009. It won’t be unheard of though, and all the indication are in place that EA is strongly pushing the mobile gaming agenda.

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