Glu Mobile

Glu Mobile LLC is an American developer and publisher of mobile games. It was founded as Sorrent in 2001 and acquired Macrospace in 2004. Both companies collectively rebranded as Glu Mobile in 2005. In April 2021, the company was acquired by Electronic Arts.

Glu Mobile LLC
FormerlySorrent (2001–2005)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2001 (2001)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Key people
Nick Earl (CEO and President)
RevenueUS$411.4 million[1]
Number of employees
800[2] (2021)
ParentElectronic Arts (2021–present)
Websitewww.glu.com

History

Glu Mobile was founded as Sorrent in 2001. In December 2004, Sorrent acquired the London-based Macrospace. In June 2005 the merged company created a new corporate name: Glu Mobile.[3] That same year, Greg Ballard replaced Sorrent founder Scott Orr as CEO. In 2006, Glu Mobile acquired iFone and in 2007 it acquired Chinese mobile game producer Beijing Zhangzhong MIG Information Technology Co. Ltd. ("MIG"). In September 2007, Glu announced the launch of Asteroids for mobile phones.[4] In March 2008, Glu acquired San Clemente-based mobile developer Superscape.

In January 2010, Niccolo de Masi joined Glu Mobile as the President and CEO. De Masi was previously CEO at Hands-On Mobile. Since his arrival, Glu has transitioned to a freemium business model focused around Glu's original IP.

On August 2, 2011, Glu acquired Griptonite Games. Its staff of 200 "approximately double[d]" Glu's internal development capacity.[5]

In April 2012, Glu acquired the entire Deer Hunter franchise.[6]

Glu Mobile bought Gamespy Technologies (the entity responsible for GameSpy multiplayer services) from IGN Entertainment in August 2012,[7] and proceeded in December to raise integration costs and shut down servers for many older games, including the Star Wars: Battlefront series, Sniper Elite, Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Neverwinter Nights, with no warning to developers or consumers.[8] GameSpy Technologies remained operational and did not make any announcements of an impending shutdown; the two GameSpy companies were separate entities and only related by name.[9] Glu also shut down online multiplayer servers for several titles on the Nintendo DS and Wii, such as Mario Kart DS, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Kart Wii. Glu shut down the rest of Gamespy effective on May 31, 2014.[10]

On September 3, 2014, PlayFirst was acquired by Glu. The official statement from Glu Mobile CEO Niccolo de Masi read "We are pleased to officially add PlayFirst to the Glu family and look forward to delivering new DASH products to a worldwide audience."[11]

In April 2015, Chinese company Tencent paid $126 million for a 15% stake in Glu Mobile.[12] It had 20.8% as of 2017.[13]

On December 22, 2016, it was announced that Glu Mobile had acquired the trivia game QuizUp for US$7.5 million. On January 20, 2021, QuizUp was removed from appstores, and on January 21, 2021, it was announced that QuizUp will be discontinued on March 22, 2021. Since then, all purchases are disabled.[14][15]

In November 2016, Nick Earl became CEO. The majority stake of Glu shares are held by institutions: at the start of the third quarter of 2012, institutional ownership was 78% of the outstanding shares according to Google Finance.[16]

Electronic Arts announced in February 2021 that it plans to acquire Glu in a deal estimated at US$2.4 billion.[17] On the same day of the announcement of the deal, it was revealed that the companies expect the acquisition to close in the second quarter of 2021.[18] In April 2021, EA completed the acquisition of Glu Mobile.[19]

Games

References
  1. "SEC Filings | Investors | Glu". Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  2. Knoop, Joseph (February 9, 2021). "EA Acquires Glu Mobile for $2.1 Billion, One of the Biggest Gaming Acquisitions Ever". IGN. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. "Glu". Edge. Future plc. June 16, 2005. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  4. "Glu Mobile Inc : Glu Launches Asteroids® on Mobile Phones Worldwide". September 4, 2007. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  5. "Glu Mobile Picks up Griptonite, Blammo After Narrowing Losses". August 2, 2011. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  6. "Glu Mobile Acquires Deer Hunter® Brand". BusinessWire. April 4, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  7. "Glu Acquires GameSpy Technology to Expand Connected, Cross-platform Mobile Leadership". Glu Mobile. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  8. "Glu Shutting Down Multiplayer for GameSpy-based PC Titles". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  9. "A Tale of Two GameSpys". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  10. "Star Wars Battlefront 2, Empire at War going offline due to GameSpy shutdown". Polygon. May 6, 2014. Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  11. PlayFirst (September 3, 2014). "Glu Mobile Completes Acquisition of PlayFirst". PlayFirst. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  12. "Tencent Will Pay $126 Million for 15 Percent Stake in Glu Mobile". re/code. April 29, 2015. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  13. "Two tech giants are behind the pick-up in China IPOs on US exchanges". CNBC. November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  14. "QUIZUP TO BE DISCONTINUED". Glu Mobile. January 22, 2021. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  15. "QUIZUP MAIN PAGE". QuizUp. March 24, 2021. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  16. "Google Finance - Stock Market Prices, Real-time Quotes & Business News". Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  17. Moon, Mariella (February 9, 2021). "EA is purchasing Glu Mobile for $2.4 billion". Engadget. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  18. "Electronic Arts acquires Glu Mobile for $2.4 billion". VentureBeat. February 8, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  19. Takahashi, Dean (April 29, 2021). "EA completes $2.4 billion acquisition of Glu Mobile". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  20. Buchanan, Levi (May 9, 2012). "1000: Find 'Em All Review". IGN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  21. Katz, Leslie (September 6, 2018). "This game will make you obsessed with rattan ottomans and watercolor whales". CNET. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  22. "Diner Dash Adventures". iTunes App Store. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  23. "Gun Bros Freemium dual stick xBox Live shooter". BestWP7Games. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.
  24. "LMA Manager 2008 (J2ME)". Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  25. "Build Your Own Rap Empire with Nicki Minaj's New Mobile Game". Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  26. "Tony Hawk: Vert launched". Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
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