The Energon Pub

News Credits: 5749 · Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:09 pm

Backflip Studios has announced that Hasbro has purchased the majority stake of their company. Back Flip Studios produces the popular iOS games Paper Toss and Dragonvale. No word on future Transformers projects, see their statement below:

Hasbro Purchases Majority Stake In Backflip Studios

July 8, 2013
Dear Backflip community:

We are thrilled to announce today that we are selling a majority stake in Backflip Studios to Hasbro. The company will stay in Boulder, CO and will continue to be run by the current management team. In addition to producing original new titles and updating popular favorites, we will now have access to Hasbro’s catalog of well-known brands for future mobile development. We will proceed with our long held strategy of building a large and active network of satisfied users through compelling gameplay.

We started this company because we love making games and we saw a tremendous opportunity in mobile. Since the beginning, we have prioritized creating the highest quality product, innovating as the medium evolves and making sure our users are happy. We will remain true to this vision going forward.

Having grown up playing Dungeons & Dragons, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly and throwing a Nerf football, it’s exciting to have our games brought into the Hasbro family.

It is a joy and a privilege to be able to make games for a living. At Backflip, I have the absolute honor of working with some of the best talent in the industry and being surrounded by passionate people who I admire, respect and enjoy. I am very proud of what we have built thus far and I am truly optimistic that we will continue to thrive, prosper and grow under this new relationship.

Thank you for playing our games.

Sincerely,

Julian Farrior
CEO / Founder

News Credits: 251 · Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:33 pm

Hopefully they'll make a better game than Legends. >:oP

News Credits: 1 · Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:42 pm

I read about this earlier when researching Hasbro's stock. Odd, but hey - this just means Hasbro is doing well.

News Credits: 461 · Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:57 am

I play dragonvale from Backflip Studios and I've been playing since the start. Backflip is really good about listening to their customers. They've given us everything we've asked for.

I think they will be great for a transformers game. you can only improve on transformers legend...

Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:53 pm

I'm hoping for something better than Legends, as well... >:oP

datguy86 wrote:I read about this earlier when researching Hasbro's stock. Odd, but hey - this just means Hasbro is doing well.

So if you buy something, you're doing "well"? The acquisition only reveals that Hasbro is interested in buffing up their mobile gaming division, not that they're doing "well". :???:

From the previous earnings posting, it sounded like they were in the process of cutting costs and removing redundancy (i.e. layoffs). :roll:

I'm not entirely convinced that tightening the corporate toy belt and spending money in mobile entertainment is a good sign of health. But at least they're trying (even though I think they're going about it the wrong way).