Glu Mobile Explained

Glu Mobile LLC
Former Name:Sorrent (2001–2005)
Type:Subsidiary
Location:San Francisco, California, U.S.
Industry:Video games
Key People:Nick Earl (CEO and President)
Revenue:US$411.4 million[1]
Num Employees:800[2]
Num Employees Year:2021
Parent:Electronic Arts (2021–present)

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.

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.[5]

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 and Blammo Games. Its staff of 200 "approximately double[d]" Glu's internal development capacity.[6] [7]

In April 2012, Glu acquired the entire Deer Hunter franchise.[8]

Glu Mobile bought Gamespy Technologies (the entity responsible for GameSpy multiplayer services) from IGN Entertainment in August 2012,[9] and proceeded in December to raise integration costs and shut down servers for many older games, including the series, Sniper Elite, Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Neverwinter Nights, with no warning to developers or consumers.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

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."[13]

In April 2015, Chinese company Tencent paid $126 million for a 15% stake in Glu Mobile.[14] It had 20.8% as of 2017.[15]

On November 4th, 2016, Glu purchased the mobile app developer Crowdtap buying their mobile games including Covet Fashion.[16]

On December 22, 2016, it was announced that Glu Mobile had acquired the trivia game QuizUp for 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.[17] [18]

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.[19]

Electronic Arts announced in February 2021 that it plans to acquire Glu in a deal estimated at US$2.4 billion.[20] [21] [22] 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.[23] In April 2021, EA completed the acquisition of Glu Mobile.[24] Following the shutdown of EA Sports MLB Tap Sports and F1 Mobile Racing mobile games, EA announced it would lay off "a small number of staff" from Glu Mobile.[25] Glu Mobile's 2021 Q4 earnings and revenues surpassed estimates.[26]

Games

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SEC Filings | Investors | Glu . September 18, 2015 . June 19, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170619080502/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=207033&p=irol-sec . dead .
  2. Web site: EA Acquires Glu Mobile for $2.1 Billion, One of the Biggest Gaming Acquisitions Ever. Joseph. Knoop. IGN. February 9, 2021. February 9, 2021. February 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210215023652/https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-acquires-glu-mobile-2-billion?sf137867903=1. live.
  3. Glu. June 16, 2005. Edge. Future plc. August 6, 2013. July 27, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140727101621/http://www.edge-online.com/features/glu/. live.
  4. Web site: Glu Mobile Inc : Glu Launches Asteroids® on Mobile Phones Worldwide . September 4, 2007 . July 14, 2013 . July 17, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180717041738/http://www.4-traders.com/GLU-MOBILE-INC-46581/news/Glu-Mobile-Inc-Glu-Launches-Asteroids-TM-on-Mobile-Phones-Worldwide-410399/ . live .
  5. Web site: 2008-01-24 . Glu Announces Tender Offer to Acquire Superscape, a Leading Publisher of Mobile Games . 2024-03-05 . GamesIndustry.biz . en.
  6. Web site: Glu Mobile Picks up Griptonite, Blammo After Narrowing Losses. August 2, 2011. April 21, 2012. August 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210825041629/https://gamasutra.com/view/news/126331/Glu_Mobile_Picks_Up_Griptonite_Blammo_After_Narrowing_Losses.php. live.
  7. Web site: Glu Mobile Acquires Griptonite, Blammo Games for Stock, Earnouts Worth More Than $50M . Ad Week . 14 May 2024.
  8. Web site: Glu Mobile Acquires Deer Hunter® Brand. April 4, 2012. BusinessWire. June 28, 2012. September 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210928174315/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120404006539/en/Glu-Mobile-Acquires-Deer-Hunter%C2%AE-Brand. live.
  9. Web site: Glu Acquires GameSpy Technology to Expand Connected, Cross-platform Mobile Leadership. Glu Mobile. November 19, 2012. April 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160411143602/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=207033&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1721900&highlight=. live.
  10. Web site: Glu Shutting Down Multiplayer for GameSpy-based PC Titles. Tom's Hardware. November 19, 2012.
  11. Web site: A Tale of Two GameSpys . GameSpy . February 25, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121213052002/http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/122/1226912p1.html . December 13, 2012 .
  12. Web site: Star Wars Battlefront 2, Empire at War going offline due to GameSpy shutdown. Polygon. May 6, 2014. May 14, 2014. April 9, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200409233614/https://www.polygon.com/2014/5/6/5687238/star-wars-battlefront-2-star-wars-empire-gamespy-shutdown-may-31. live.
  13. Web site: Glu Mobile Completes Acquisition of PlayFirst. PlayFirst. PlayFirst. September 3, 2014. September 3, 2014. January 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125043352/http://www.playfirst.com/news/viewNewsItem/34. dead.
  14. Web site: Tencent Will Pay $126 Million for 15 Percent Stake in Glu Mobile. April 29, 2015. re/code. April 29, 2015. May 6, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160506203431/http://recode.net/2015/04/29/tencent-will-pay-126-million-for-15-percent-stake-in-glu-mobile/. live.
  15. Web site: Two tech giants are behind the pick-up in China IPOs on US exchanges. CNBC. November 9, 2017. November 11, 2017. November 12, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171112074503/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/09/chinese-ipos-in-the-us-an-indirect-battle-between-alibaba-and-tencent.html. live.
  16. Web site: Chapple . Craig . Content . Head of . 2016-11-04 . Glu Mobile appoints new CEO and acquires control of Covet: Fashion dev Crowdstar for $45 million . 2024-04-19 . pocketgamer.biz.
  17. Web site: January 22, 2021. QUIZUP TO BE DISCONTINUED. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210201011909/https://glumobile.helpshift.com/a/quizup/?s=general&f=quizup-to-be-discontinued&l=en. February 1, 2021. January 24, 2021. Glu Mobile.
  18. Web site: March 24, 2021. QUIZUP MAIN PAGE. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140404215417/http://quizup.com/. April 4, 2014. March 24, 2021. QuizUp.
  19. Web site: Google Finance - Stock Market Prices, Real-time Quotes & Business News. November 11, 2016. September 6, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170906181805/http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:GLUU. dead.
  20. Web site: EA completes $2.4 billion acquisition of Glu Mobile . Venture Beat . 20 May 2024.
  21. Web site: EA to Acquire Glu Mobile, Maker of ‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,’ in $2.1 Billion Deal . Variety . 20 May 2024.
  22. Web site: EA is purchasing Glu Mobile for $2.4 billion . Mariella . Moon . February 9, 2021 . February 9, 2021 . . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611193908/https://www.engadget.com/ea-purchasing-glu-mobile-045832340.html . live .
  23. Web site: February 8, 2021. Electronic Arts acquires Glu Mobile for $2.4 billion. February 11, 2021. VentureBeat. en-US. May 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210513133829/https://venturebeat.com/2021/02/08/ea-glu-mobile-deal/. live.
  24. Web site: EA completes $2.4 billion acquisition of Glu Mobile. VentureBeat. Dean. Takahashi. April 29, 2021. April 29, 2021. August 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210814153956/https://venturebeat.com/2021/04/29/ea-completes-2-4-billion-acquisition-of-glu-mobile/. live.
  25. Web site: McEvoy . Sophie . 2024-02-23 . EA cutting "small number" of staff as it sunsets two mobile games . 2024-03-05 . GamesIndustry.biz . en.
  26. Web site: Glu Mobile (GLUU) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates . Yahoo News . 14 May 2024.
  27. News: Buchanan . Levi . 1000: Find 'Em All Review . August 31, 2022 . IGN . May 9, 2012 . August 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831212102/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/02/12/1000-find-em-all-review . live .
  28. News: Katz . Leslie . This game will make you obsessed with rattan ottomans and watercolor whales . June 7, 2019 . CNET . September 6, 2018 . June 7, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144912/https://www.cnet.com/news/design-home-game-has-me-obsessed-with-rattan-ottomans-watercolor-whales/ . live .
  29. Web site: Diner Dash Adventures. iTunes App Store. June 15, 2022. July 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220706161807/https://apps.apple.com/us/app/diner-dash-adventures/id1380831764. live.
  30. Web site: Gun Bros Freemium dual stick xBox Live shooter . July 12, 2012 . BestWP7Games . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120715064036/http://www.bestwp7games.com/gun-bros-freemium-dual-stick-xbox-live-shooter.html . July 15, 2012.
  31. Web site: LMA Manager 2008 (J2ME). January 30, 2022. January 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220130124249/https://www.mobygames.com/game/lma-manager-2008. live.
  32. Web site: Build Your Own Rap Empire with Nicki Minaj's New Mobile Game. September 19, 2018. September 20, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180920032144/http://time.com/4594262/nicki-minaj-empire-game/. live.
  33. Web site: Tony Hawk: Vert launched . June 16, 2020 . June 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200616025012/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/tony-hawk---vert-mobile-tone-launched-worldwide . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Glu Mobile".

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