Back in April, Astro Ape CEO Chieh Huang spoke of his studio's desire to topple the likes of Zynga, claiming his New York outfit's games were of a higher quality than the titles churned out by bigger players.

"It's no secret that all those companies have millions and even billions of dollars to spend on marketing budgets," Huang said in an interview with us.

"For us, at the end of the day, we believe that we build a better product."

Four months on, and a bit of detective work has revealed the developer is now part of the company it once sought to surpass.

Sleeping with the enemy

There's been no official announcement, but those working at Astro Ape, including Huang, have altered their place of employment on their LinkedIn profiles to Zynga NY, suggesting the social giant has both acquired and rebranded the company.

It's a particularly interesting move, if only because one of Zynga's big rivals, Japanese outfit DeNA, invested in Astro Ape back in September 2010.

As a result of the funding, Astro Ape added support for DeNA's mobile social platform for iPhone MiniNation to its roster of titles – a move DeNA described at the time as its first 'X-device, X-border' deal.

Nevertheless, Astro Ape has now become yet another cog in the Zynga wheel, with the company having already acquired 15 separate businesses in the previous 14 months as part of its social expansion.

[source: Business Insider]