A year and a half since former CEO Trip Hawkins departed, former mobile gaming powerhouse Digital Chocolate has sold its 48-person strong Barcelona studio to Ubisoft.
The deal uncovered by TechCrunch will see the French publisher take charge of Digital Chocolate Spain's technology and brands, though it has no plans to acquire any of the firm's other assets outside of the country.
Candy crushed
The news comes after a period of downscaling at the company, with layoffs part and parcel of its restructuring efforts.
Speaking on the firm's decline at the time of his departure, Hawkins claimed Digital Chocolate's enthusiasm for Facebook meant the firm was in trouble when the social network began to cut back on "game spam".
"A change in viral is going to reduce your MAU, and a change in the return rate is going to reduce your DAU; if you reduce the DAU you're going to reduce revenue," said Hawkins back in May 2012.
"I do think Digital Chocolate's going to do a much better job; it already is doing a better job on the mobile side this year, but it's just late."
Little has been heard of Digital Chocolate officially since Hawkins' departure, though the company is without a major hit on smartphones to speak of, with its Facebook business also suffering decline.
[source: TechCrunch]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Top Stories
News
Mar 18th, 2024
SuperScale's ebook serves organic growth tips, making mobile games more sustainable
News
Mar 18th, 2024
Copyright doesn’t exist for generative AI-created content in the US but it remains the "Wild West"
Feature
Mar 18th, 2024
Hot Five: Monopoly GO’s next-level UA, Supercell’s psychological analysis, and AI use for NPC dialogue
Feature
Mar 15th, 2024
Under the hood: Deconstructing Monopoly GO! as it passes $2 billion in revenue
Events
MIX & Kinda Funny Showcase 2024 | North America | Mar 14th |
Game Developers Conference 2024 | North America | Mar 18th |
#notGDC 2024 | Mar 18th | |
Day of the Devs: San Francisco | North America | Mar 18th |
Nvidia GTC 2024 | North America | Mar 18th |
Game Connection America 2024 | Europe | Mar 18th |
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2024 | North America | Mar 18th |
European Game Showcase 2024 | North America | Mar 19th |
Popular Stories
Interview
Mar 12th, 2024
Supercell’s Head of Live Games Sara Bach talks company changes, world-beating live ops, and how to get back on top
News
Mar 13th, 2024
Monopoly GO makes $2 billion in 10 months with "less than a quarter" of that spent on UA
News
Mar 15th, 2024