It’s time for another mobile gaming acquisition deal.
Palringo, a U.K. chat app developer, has acquired Tribe Studios, a Finnish game company, as originally reported at GamesIndustry.biz. Tribe Studios has created a technology, Dramagame, that allows multiple players to experience a story-based game from different perspectives. And it shows how the role chat apps play in games is moving from Asia to the rest of the world.
Other chat and instant-messaging company’s, like the Japan-based Line, integrate with games. In Line’s case, owners can earn stickers for use in chat by playing the puzzle game Disney Tsum Tsum. The Seoul-based Kakao also integrates gaming with a chat service.
“Tribe Studios has a unique offering that fits perfectly with our ambitions of establishing Palringo as the pioneer in mobile community gaming,” Palringo chief executive officer Tim Rea told GamesIndustry.biz. “The combination of games, messaging, and communities creates a fantastic, sustainable proposition. They have a great team and we’re excited to work with them to bring their Dramagame concept to mobile through Palringo’s chat games.”
The mobile gaming market is huge and growing. It could reach $30 billion and exceed the console industry’s revenues this year, according to market researcher Newzoo.