Rollic acquires mobile game developer Popcore

Zynga, a wholly-owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive, today announced that its subsidiary Rollic has acquired Berlin-based Popcore, an independent mobile game developer. 

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Rollic, which was acquired by Zynga in October 2020, aims to strengthen its position among hyper-casual publishers worldwide with the acquisition. The Istanbul-based game developer and publisher which was founded in December 2018, recently surpassed 2 billion lifetime downloads worldwide and has had 19 titles reach the #1 or #2 spot in the U.S. Apple App Store. 

Last year, Rollic acquired Turkish mobile game studios Uncosoft, ZeroSum, ByteTyper, and Creasaur Entertainment. 

“Popcore’s dedication to rapid experimentation and nimble development matches perfectly with the values and processes we live by at Rollic and I am thrilled to welcome them into our family,” said Burak Vardal, CEO of Rollic. “Combining allows us to build more gaming experiences that emphasize meaningful, lasting engagement. Furthermore, our mutual user base with Popcore will represent a great combination of new players and long-term retaining users.”

Founded in 2018 by brothers Thomas and Johannes Heinz, Popcore develops innovative ad-driven, free-to-play games for audiences worldwide such as Parking Jam 3D and Pull the Pin!.  The mobile game developer’s titles have been downloaded globally more than 500 million times across iOS and Android.

“Our teams rigorously test our games, evolving them based on in-depth data analytics to provide entertainment that balances the accessibility of hyper-casual with the lasting engagement of casual gaming,” said Johannes Heinze, Co-Founder of Popcore. “This deal will combine our specific brand of ad-driven, free-to-play mobile titles with Rollic’s global marketing expertise and Zynga’s history of live services to build the next generation of mobile games.”

In May 2022, Take-Two Interactive completed its $12.7 billion acquisition of Zynga. The studios diverse portfolio of popular game franchises  has been downloaded more than 6 billion times on mobile, including Dragon City, FarmVille, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Merge Dragons!, Toon Blast, and Words With Friends.