EA to acquire popular mobile game developer, Firemint

Today, Electronic Arts announced an agreement to acquire Firemint, the maker of several hit games on mobile platforms.

The news comes on the heels of EA's acquisition of Mobile Post Production, a cross-platform development studio that ports games for smartphones.

"The Firemint team is remarkable for its critical and commercial success," Barry Cottle, executive vice president and general manger of EA Interactive, said in a statement. "The added technical expertise of MPP, combined with the creative talent of Firemint and our EAi studio teams, fuels EA's leadership in delivering top-selling, high-quality games across mobile phones and smartphones, tablets, and future digital interactive entertainment platforms."

Of the thousands of games that flooded the gates of the iTunes App Store in its early days, Firemint was one of the first development companies to hold solid positions on the Paid Apps most popular list. Its most notable hit games, Flight Control and the Real Racing franchise for both iPhone and iPad, have been popular mainstays in the Top 100 Apps lists since their release. Firemint's gone on to add other platforms to its repertoire, including Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.

The deal between EA and Firemint is expected to close within four weeks. Financial details were not disclosed.