Mag Interactive invests in new UK studio

MAG Interactive (WWW.MAGINTERACTIVE.COM) today announced a strategic investment in new UK-based studio, Delinquent (WWW.WEAREDELINQUENT.COM): a move designed to widen its footprint in casual mobile gaming, through collaboration with world-class talent. Following the enormous success of their franchise Ruzzle, MAG Interactive is now expanding its strategic reach and competitive advantage.

Delinquent, based in Brighton, is home to a 12-person team. The leadership of the studio hails from PopCap, EA, Mind Candy, Relentless and Activision and includes senior experience on titles such as Peggle, Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies.

“There’s a strong fit between the culture of our studios,” explained Daniel Hasselberg, CEO and co-founder of MAG Interactive. “Our plan is to individually and collectively disrupt some of the established genres in casual free-to-play. Delinquent pitched us on their ambition to add genuine innovation into game genres we know and love. After spending time with the team and playing early builds of what they’re producing, we believe they can truly do that.” he added. “The ongoing success of our franchise, Ruzzle, and its expansion Ruzzle Adventure has given our team an enormous amount of experience developing, publishing and growing games. We believe that sharing our expertise with a trusted and strategic partner will enable both studios to build more hits with even greater potential.”

David Bishop, CCO and Co-Founder at Delinquent added, “I’ve been fortunate to be making games for over 30 years. Every so often you find yourself part of a team that can make magic happen. We had that experience at PopCap and I wanted to re-create that feeling within Delinquent. We’ve been incredibly focused on securing and gelling the worlds best talent and have assembled a team that are now ready to cause some serious trouble. MAG Interactive felt like the final missing-link. A studio who have “been-there, done-that and have the t-shirt.” added Bishop. “The alignment with Daniel and his team not only provides investment, but the beginning of a relationship we plan to build upon for the future.”

Hasselberg will join the board of Delinquent, who are due to release their first title in Q1 2015.

About MAG Interactive – WWW.MAGINTERACTIVE.COM

MAG Interactive is an independent Swedish gaming studio that taps into the universal appeal of casual games. Based in Stockholm, MAG Interactive focuses on the social and competitive elements of mobile gaming: challenging and engaging millions of users from all over the world.

MAG Interactive is best-known for its first game, Ruzzle, which launched in March 2012, and quickly became the fastest-growing word game in the history of the App Store. The app has exceeded 50 million downloads, and more than 20 billion rounds of Ruzzle have been played across the world.

In 2014, MAG Interactive won TNW Europe 2014’s Tech 5 start-up competition, as well as being listed as one of Europe’s hottest start-ups by Wired UK. In November 2013, MAG Interactive secured a $6 million funding round, led by Nokia Growth Partners. In May 2014, MAG Interactive also announced a partnership with High Noon Entertainment that will see the Ruzzle series developed and expanded into a format designed for broadcast and cable networks.

About Delinquent – WWW.WEAREDELINQUENT.COM

Delinquent is a new interactive entertainment studio, based in Brighton. Co-Founded by industry veterans from PopCap, Mind Candy, Relentless, EA, Activision and Media Molecule, the team are focussed on disrupting the mobile games establishment.

The company was founded in 2014, by proven leadership and world-class development talent. The team have a love for mobile and a passion to entertain. We’re building an engaged community of fans across ground-breaking free-to-play titles.