It's the sort of news that initially seems surprising but in retrospection makes complete sense: TechCrunch is reporting Disney has acquired Tapulous.

One of the strongest independent studios to emerge from the Apple App Store, Tapulous's Tap Tap Revenge music games have been downloaded over 35 million times (paid and free), with more than one billion games played.

The company's revenues have been based on downloadable music packs and advertising however, with it revealing in December 2009 that it was generating around $1 million in revenue per month.

To that extent, it would fit well into Disney's casual and social gaming portfolio. And, no doubt, Tapulous has plenty of ideas in terms of what it could do with Disney properties on the iPhone too. 

More details are expected to be announced soon.

[source: TechCrunch]