Glu Mobile

Glu Mobile LLC

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Mobile games
Predecessor	Sorrent, Macrospace
Founded	2001
Founder	Scott Orr
Fate	Acquired by Electronic Arts
Successor	EA Mobile
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Nick Earl (CEO)
Products	Mobile games, including Deer Hunter, Covet Fashion, QuizUp, Tap Sports Baseball
Owner	Electronic Arts
Parent	Electronic Arts

Glu Mobile LLC is a United States-based company specializing in the development and publishing of mobile games. Originally established as Sorrent in 2001, it merged with London’s Macrospace in 2004, leading to a rebranding as Glu Mobile the following year. In April 2021, Electronic Arts completed its acquisition of Glu, folding it into EA Mobile.

History

The firm began operations under the name Sorrent in 2001. After acquiring Macrospace in December 2004, it adopted the Glu Mobile name by June 2005. That same year, Greg Ballard succeeded founder Scott Orr as CEO. Glu pursued growth through several acquisitions, including UK-based iFone in 2006, Chinese studio MIG in 2007, and Superscape in 2008.

In January 2010, Niccolo de Masi took over as President and CEO, guiding Glu toward a freemium revenue model centered on proprietary intellectual properties. The company expanded its internal development capabilities substantially by acquiring Griptonite Games and Blammo Games in August 2011. The portfolio grew further with the purchase of the Deer Hunter franchise in 2012.

To bolster cross-platform mobile offerings, Glu acquired Gamespy Technologies from IGN Entertainment in August 2012; however, by 2014 many multiplayer servers for older titles were discontinued. In September 2014, Glu broadened its product range with the acquisition of PlayFirst and its DASH series.

Tencent invested $126 million to obtain a 15% ownership stake in April 2015, which increased to 20.8% by 2017. November 2016 saw Glu acquire Crowdstar along with its mobile games such as Covet Fashion. Later that year, Glu purchased the trivia game QuizUp for $7.5 million; however, this title was retired in early 2021.

Nick Earl assumed the CEO role in November 2016. By mid-2012, institutional investors controlled roughly 78% of Glu’s shares.

Electronic Arts announced plans to acquire Glu for $2.4 billion in February 2021 and finalized the transaction by April. After discontinuing EA Sports MLB Tap Sports and F1 Mobile Racing, EA conducted minor layoffs affecting some Glu employees. Despite these changes, Glu’s financial results for Q4 2021 exceeded expectations under EA's ownership.

Games

• 1000: Find 'Em All
• 5-Card Draw Poker
• Adidas All-Star Football
• Age of Empires III Mobile
• ALIENS: Unleashed
• Alpha Wing 2
• Amazing Battle Creatures (ABC)
• Ancient Empires and its sequel Ancient Empires II
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force
• Asteroids
• AstroPop
• ATV Off-Road Fury
• Baldur's Gate
• The 1993 video game version of Battleship
• Beat It!
• Big Time Gangsta
• Blackjack Hustler
• The Blood & Glory series including Blood & Glory 2: Legend
• Bombshells: Hell's Belles
• Bonsai Blast
• The Brain Genius collection
• Brian Lara International Cricket 2007
• Celebrity-themed title Britney Spears: American Dream
• Boxing game Bush vs. Kerry Boxing
• Various mobile adaptations of the Call of Duty franchise including titles like 4: Modern Warfare and Black Ops Mobile
• Strategy games such as Cannons and its tournament edition
• Social simulation game Car Town
• Classic arcade title Centipede
• The action-strategy game Chaos Engine
• Puzzle game Chu Chu Rocket
• Board game adaptations like both versions of Cluedo including an SFX edition
• Game show adaptation of Concentration
• Mini-games compilation titled Codename: KND MINIGAMES
• Racing game based on Colin McRae DiRT series for mobile
• Popular casual series including multiple entries from the ‘’Cooking Dash’’ franchise
• The extensive ‘’Contract Killer’’ series with numerous sequels and spin-offs
• Diverse action and puzzle titles such as ‘’Crash 'N' Burn’’ and ‘’Daily Puzzle’’
• The well-known Deer Hunter franchise with many iterations across platforms
• Design-oriented game: ‘’Design Home’’
• Licensed titles including ‘’Dexter's Laboratory: Security Alert!’’, ‘’Digimon Racing’’, and multiple installments of the casual favorite Diner Dash, featuring mobile adaptations
• Action games like ‘’Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores’’ and Disney’s licensed Disney Sorcerer's Arena
• Classic games such as Dominoes alongside strategic offerings like Dragon Island
• Mobile versions of major franchises including Driver 3 and Driver: Vegas
• Licensed entertainment titles such as Ed, Edd n Eddy: Giant Jawbreakers, several Family Guy games, and sports titles like FOX Sports Football '06
• Shooter franchises exemplified by the multiple entries in the Frontline Commando series
• Board game renditions including Game of Life
• Competitive multiplayer games such as Gears & Guts and Gang Lords
• Arcade and casual series including Glyder, mobile versions of Guitar Hero, and freemium shooters like Gun Bros
• Hero-themed games such as Hero Project alongside licensed titles like Hercules
• Puzzle and casual offerings including High Heels MahJong, HOYLE Solitaire, Ice Age licensed games among others
• Strategy and combat games like Indestructible, Infected, Insaniquarium Deluxe, Inuyasha-themed titles, Jamaican Bobsled, Kasparov Chess
• Celebrity-endorsed mobile experiences such as Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Kendall and Kylie, and Katy Perry Pop
• Classic strategy series like the multiple mobile adaptations of the Lemmings franchise
• Sports management sims including LMA Manager 2008
• Casual pet simulation game titled Love a Lemming
• Licensed sports games featuring Manchester United Football
• Urban culture-inspired titles such as Marc Ecko's Getting Up
• Tactical combat games like Mech Battalion and Men vs. Machines
• Movie tie-in games including Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
• Annual releases within major league sports franchises exemplified by MLB Tap Sports Baseball (2018–2021)
• Board game adaptations such as Monopoly with various editions including MONOPOLY HERE & NOW
• Licensed entertainment franchises including Monsters vs. Aliens, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Mutant Roadkill
• Celebrity-themed strategy title: Nicki Minaj: The Empire
• Pirate-themed strategy game titled Pirates of Everseas
• Racing games such as Project Gotham Racing Mobile and Racing Rivals
• Family-friendly pinball experiences like Ren & Stimpy Pinball
• Food service management games including Restaurant DASH featuring Gordon Ramsay
• Classic board and puzzle games such as Reversi, Robots, SIMON
• Defense strategy titles within the Samurai vs Zombies Defense series
• Licensed children’s franchises including Scooby-Doo! Castle Capers and Scooby-Doo! 2: Dark Dungeons
• Action role-playing games like Shadowalker
• Sports-themed franchises such as Tap Sports Baseball (2015–2017)
• Role-playing adventure Tavern Quest
• Revivals of classic arcade hits including The Chaos Engine and Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe
• Licensed cartoon-based titles such as The Flintstones Bedrock Bowling and Grocery Hunt
• Strategy defense game The Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Defense
• Cartoon action title The Powerpuff Girls: Bad Mojo
• Game show adaptations featuring formats like The Price Is Right and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with celebrity editions
• Social lifestyle application The Swift Life
• Animated character-based games including Tom and Jerry: Cheese Chase and Food Fight
• Extreme sports franchise Tony Hawk: Vert adapted for mobile platforms
• Action shooter Terminator Genisys: Revolution
• Transformers franchise mobile adaptations based on both films and original content:
  • Transformers G1: Awakening
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

- Additional casual titles encompass VBirds, Virtua Tennis, Wacky Races, Watchmen (film-based), World Series of Poker series across various platforms, Yogi Bear Pic-A-Nic, Zuma.