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Digital Chocolate acquires Cake Mania studio Sandlot Games

Strengthening its casual base

Digital Chocolate acquires Cake Mania studio Sandlot Games
Digital Chocolate might already have a major hand in the casual gaming pie, but that hasn't stopped it expanding its role by acquiring Washington based Sandlot Games.

The purchase, which was made for an undisclosed fee, is not designed to strengthen its base in the US, however.

Rather, Digital Chocolate founder and CEO Trip Hawkins said Sandlot will be used to build the firm's foundations in burgeoning territories, such as Eastern Europe.

Perfect recipe

"Sandlot has built a great reputation in casual games," said Hawkins of the move.

"We love their development teams and we can now expand further in Seattle and Eastern Europe. We expect to be the leading game company in at least 5 of the 7 cities where we now have development studios."

Sandlot is best known for its time management series Cake Mania, though it's also been behind fellow casual releases Super Granny, Tradewinds and Westward.

Eyes on overseas

According to CEO and founder Dan Bernstein, the prospect of overseas expansion also played a part in Sandlot's decision.

"We're excited about joining forces with Digital Chocolate to grow globally," said Bernstein. 

"I look forward to building successful multiplatform games together."

As a result of the acquisition, Bernstein will become VP of Digital Chocolate, but he'll also continue to manage Sandlot's studios in both St. Petersburg, Russia and Bothell, Washington.

[source: BusinessWire]

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