Under Hasbro, Backflip Studios is cranking out some ambitious mobile games

Julian Farrior cashed out big time last year when Hasbro paid $112 million for a majority stake in his five-year-old mobile game development studio, Backflip Studios. The Boulder, Colo.-based Backflip had made hit games like Army of Darkness: Defense, Ragdoll Blaster, Paper Toss, and Dragonvale.

But instead of kicking back, Backflip has gone into hyperdrive. Since the acquisition, Backflip has hired 35 people and has more than 100 employees. And now it’s getting ready to launch some ambitious free-to-play mobile titles. Instead of going out to pasture, Farrior is doubling down on mobile game development to produce more of the kind of games that have garnered more than 300 million downloads since Backflip started in 2009.