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Jam City wraps up Bingo Pop IP acquisition with new Toronto Studio

The Bingo Pop team will join Jam City as part of the move

Date Type Companies involved Size
November 29th, 2018 acquisition Jam City
Uken Games
Not disclosed
Jam City wraps up Bingo Pop IP acquisition with new Toronto Studio

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery developer Jam City has acquired the Bingo Pop IP from games developer Uken Games.

As part of the deal, the team behind the mobile bingo game will join Jam City and will be based in Jam City's new Toronto Studio.

The Bingo Pop team will continue to manage the games operations, but further details of the deal were not disclosed beyond that.

“We are so proud to be continuing Jam City’s rapid global expansion with the acquisition of one of the most popular bingo titles, and its highly talented team,” said Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe.

“This acquisition provides Jam City with access to leading creative talent in one of the fastest growing and most exciting tech markets in the world.

“We look forward to working with the talented Jam City team in Toronto as we supercharge the live operations of Bingo Pop and develop innovative new titles and mobile entertainment experiences.”

Popping off

Regarding the company's presence in Canada, Jam City remarked that the country is swiftly becoming a haven for top games developers, engineers, designers and artists due to its prestigious universities, universal healthcare, affordable housing and diverse communities.

"Jam City is looking forward to tapping into the large pool of talent across the region and expanding our operations in such a vibrant and trend-setting city,” said DeWolfe.

The acquisition and studio opening follows on from Jam City’s multi-year partnership with Disney to craft a slew of mobile games based on the Pixar and Disney IP. The deal also saw Jam City take over as publisher for pre-existing title Disney Emoji Blitz.

Speaking to PocketGamer.Biz previously, Jam City president Josh Yguado said the deal fitted perfectly into the company’s strategy to become an entertainment company.

“We’ve always believed in a balanced portfolio of in-house developed new original IP and licensed third-party IP,” said Yguado.

“This deal entrusts Jam City with Disney characters and stories that millions of fans around the world already know and love and allows us to create lasting franchises that will be played five, 10 and 20 years from now.”

Jam City will be back at Pocket Gamer Connects London (January 21st to 22nd), with director of corporate development John Peterson set to take part in a speed panel at the show.


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Staff Writer

Iain is a freelance writer based in Scotland with a penchant for indies and all things Nintendo. Alongside PocketGamer.Biz, he has also appeared in Kotaku, Rock Paper Shotgun, PCGamesN and VG24/7.