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CrowdStar cans new Facebook games as studio switches focus to smartphones

Firm '100% focused on mobile'

CrowdStar cans new Facebook games as studio switches focus to smartphones
CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan has revealed the company is no longer developing new games for Facebook, with the outfit switching its attention to the smartphone market.

The revelation was made during an interview with All Things Digital, with Relan revealing 90 percent of the firm's revenues in 2011 came from games on the social network.

This year, he claims, 90 percent will come from its operations on mobile.

Moving on

"We are maintaining the old games, like Happy Aquarium, but we don't build new Facebook PC games any more," said Relan.

"We are 100 percent focused on mobile."

CrowdStar has already enjoyed much success within the mobile arena – Top Girl, Social Girl and Modern Girl amassing downloads in the region of 20 million to date – while the firm is also behind a $10 million fund for indie innovation for mobile social studios with tech incubator YouWeb.

Its decision to depart Facebook longterm, however, will not go down well at the social network, as the company shifts towards its initial public offering (IPO).

Smart phones

Social studios are increasingly looking to mobile to make up a larger share of their income, reportedly nervous gaming on Facebook has already peaked and is now in decline.

Zynga, too, has moved to spread its base beyond Facebook in recent months, launching its own games portal in beta form that also plays host to titles from third parties.

In the case of CrowdStar, numbers sourced from AppData suggest its library attracts less than 8 million monthly users, down from a high of 29 million a year ago. In response, Relan claims CrowdStar has begun courting a female audience on mobile to fill the gap.

"They are very mobile and communications-oriented," he added, noting that he may well "focus on tablets" in the future in order to go after an "older audience".

[source: All Things Digital]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.