Playtika buys Wooga

Playtika, a major mobile games company headquartered in Israel, has acquired the German casual games studio Wooga Gmbh. Wooga’s Berlin studio, employing 180 persons, which story-driven casual games in the Puzzle and Hidden Object categories, will now become part of Playtika. With this acquisition, about 50 per cent of Playtika’s titles will be casual games.

Wooga’s CEO Jens Begemann will remain at the helm for the Wooga team.

Begemann sounded upbeat by the new development: “This is an amazing day for Wooga. Becoming part of Playtika is opening the next chapter in the history of our company. It is a very natural fit for both parties: we have the expertise in creating and launching story-driven casual games, Playtika has the technologies to help us scale and reach new audiences to continue our growth.”

Robert Antokol, Playtika’s Co-Founder and CEO, said: “We see great opportunities for Playtika in the casual games genre and our acquisition of Wooga firmly positions us for this next phase of our evolution. Playtika’s strengths in implementing live-operations, advanced AI and performance marketing at-scale will serve as a global springboard for Wooga’s creativity in ideating and developing winning story-led titles. Together we’ll bring audiences worldwide a whole new level of game experiences that never cease to captivate and amaze. The Wooga team is driven and passionate, has strong leadership and we’re thrilled to have them join the Playtika family.”

About Playtika:
Playtika is a leading gaming company with 22 million monthly active users playing its titles. Founded in 2010, the company was among the first to offer free-to-play social games on social networks and, shortly after, on mobile platforms. The company was also one of the originators of live game operations. As new trends and technologies continue to disrupt and reshape the games landscape, Playtika continues to diversify its company portfolio and expand into new game genres, creating the most engaging and beloved entertainment experiences for their users. Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, the company has over two thousand employees in over twelve offices worldwide including Tel-Aviv, London, Montreal, Chicago, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Kiev, Bucharest, Minsk, Dnepr and Vinnitsa.

About Wooga:
Wooga, founded in 2009, is one of the most popular developers of casual mobile games. Based in Berlin, employees from around the world develop high quality casual games with engaging stories at the core of the experience. Wooga’s aim is to play a memorable and positive part in people’s lives and create joyful moments every day – for players and employees.