Online pokie developer PlayTech has announced its acquisition of YoYo Games, the company behind GameMaker. This is just one of many in a long line of acquisitions for PlayTech, as the company continues to diversify its gaming offerings. Yesterday, YoYo Games was sold to PlayTech for $16.4 million. Another $5.25 million could be added to the deal through potential earn-outs and retention costs.

YoYo Games is best known for its GameMaker platform, which provides developers with a useful tool for creating cross-platform games. The platform has been responsible for a wide range of popular games, including Hotline Miami, Nidhogg and See No Evil.

Many games created with GameMaker have earned Game of the Year and Game of the Month awards, such as: Savant – Ascent, Fenix Rage, WizardWizard, Galactic Missile Defense and Uncanny Valley. Over the course of the past few years, PlayTech has acquired a wide range of businesses in the gaming industry.

These include Mobenga, Aristocrat Lotteries and PokerStrategy.com. As the online gaming market continues to grow and expand, it is important for operators to diversify – and, that is exactly what PlayTech plans to do. "This acquisition will enable the company to further diversify its business, benefiting from a combined B2B/B2C offering focused on a strong and growing segment of the wider gaming market," reads a statement from Aristocrat.

In addition to offering a more diverse range of gaming services, the acquisition of YoYo Games may also have some bearing on PlayTech’s own game developments. We have seen the release of plenty of video game-themed online pokies, and YoYo Games titles certainly lend themselves well to this purpose. We could certainly see pokies based on 12 Is Better Than 6, Chain Breaker, Hotline Miami and Chicken Coop Chaos.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.