Glu Mobile LLC is an American
developer and
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
of
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
s for
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive telephone call, calls over a radio freq ...
s and
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s. Founded in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, in 2004, Glu offers products to multiple platforms including
Java ME
Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of portable code for embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, TV set-top ...
-based devices,
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
,
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design lan ...
,
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macO ...
, and
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
. It was previously listed on
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
before it was acquired by
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...
in April 2021.
History
In December 2004,
San Mateo, the California-based Sorrent merged with the
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based
Macrospace. In June 2005 the merged company created a new corporate name: Glu Mobile. That same year, Greg Ballard replaced Sorrent founder Scott Orr as CEO. In 2006, Glu Mobile acquired iFone and in 2007 it acquired Chinese mobile game producer Beijing Zhangzhong MIG Information Technology Co. Ltd. ("MIG"). In September 2007, Glu announced the launch of
''Asteroids'' for mobile phones. In March 2008, Glu acquired
San Clemente
San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwe ...
-based mobile developer
Superscape
Superscape was a British developer and publisher of mobile games. The company has developed several mobile games, licensed from such companies as 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures and Global Wireless entertainment. Superscape e ...
.
In January 2010, Niccolo de Masi joined Glu Mobile as the President and CEO. De Masi was previously CEO at
Hands-On Mobile. Since his arrival, Glu has transitioned to a freemium business model focused around Glu's original IP.
On August 2, 2011, Glu acquired Griptonite Games. Its staff of 200 "approximately double
Glu's internal development capacity.
In April 2012, Glu acquired the entire ''
Deer Hunter
Deer hunting is hunting for deer for meat and sport, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food source of animal protein that can be obtained through deer huntin ...
'' franchise.
Glu Mobile bought
Gamespy Technologies (the entity responsible for GameSpy multiplayer services) from
IGN Entertainment
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
in August 2012,
and proceeded in December to raise integration costs and shut down servers for many older games, including the ''
Star Wars: Battlefront'' series, ''
Sniper Elite'', ''
Microsoft Flight Simulator X
''Microsoft Flight Simulator X'' (abbreviated as ''FSX'') is a 2006 flight simulation video game originally developed by Aces Game Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to ''Microsoft Flight ...
'' and ''
Neverwinter Nights'', with no warning to developers or consumers.
GameSpy Technologies remained operational and did not make any announcements of an impending shutdown; the two GameSpy companies were separate entities and only related by name.
Glu also shut down online multiplayer servers for several titles on the
Nintendo DS and
Wii, such as ''
Mario Kart DS
''Mario Kart DS'' is a 2005 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD Group No. 1 and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on Dec ...
'', ''
Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', and ''
Mario Kart Wii
is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the sixth installment in the ''Mario Kart'' series, and was released in April 2008. Like its previous installments, ''Mario Kart Wii'' incorporates playable characters ...
''. Glu shut down the rest of Gamespy effective on May 31, 2014.
On September 3, 2014,
PlayFirst
PlayFirst, Inc. is a Delaware based publisher of casual games founded in 2004 by industry veterans. PlayFirst produced the ''Diner Dash'' series, which won the 2008 Annual Casual Game Awards. and has seen over 550 million downloads. The popularit ...
was acquired by Glu. The official statement from Glu Mobile CEO Niccolo de Masi read "We are pleased to officially add PlayFirst to the Glu family and look forward to delivering new ''DASH'' products to a worldwide audience."
In April 2015, Chinese company
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...
paid $126 million for a 15% stake in Glu Mobile. It had 20.8% as of 2017.
On December 22, 2016, it was announced that Glu Mobile had acquired the trivia game ''
QuizUp'' for 7.5 million. On January 20, 2021, QuizUp was removed from appstores, and on January 21, 2021, it was announced that ''QuizUp'' will be discontinued on March 22, 2021. Since then, all purchases are disabled.
In November 2016, Nick Earl became CEO. The majority stake of Glu shares are held by institutions: at the start of the third quarter of 2012, institutional ownership was 78% of the outstanding shares according to
Google Finance
Google Finance is a website focusing on business news and financial information hosted by Google.
History
Google Finance was first launched by Google on March 21, 2006. The service featured business and enterprise headlines for many corporation ...
.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...
announced in February 2021 that it plans to acquire Glu in a deal estimated at US$2.4 billion. On the same day of the announcement of the deal, it was revealed that the companies expect the acquisition to close in the second quarter of 2021. In April 2021, EA completed the acquisition of Glu Mobile.
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
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
''
* ''Ancient Empires II''
* ''
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also known by various alternative titles), sometimes abbreviated as ''ATHF'' or ''Aqua Teen'', is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late ni ...
''
* ''
Asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
''
* ''
AstroPop
''AstroPop'' is a real-time puzzle video game developed and published by PopCap Games. The Adobe Flash version can be played online for free at several different websites, or a deluxe version can be downloaded and unlocked for a fee. The game ...
''
* ''ATV Off-Road Fury''
* ''
Baldur's Gate''
* ''
Battleship''
* ''
Beat It!
''Beat It!'' is a rhythm game for the iOS developed by Glu Mobile and released December 3, 2009.
Critical reception
The game has a Metacritic rating of 88% based on 6 critic reviews.
SlideToPlay said "Audiophiles have just become the target aud ...
''
* ''Big Time Gangsta''
* ''Blackjack Hustler''
* ''Blood & Glory''
* ''Blood & Glory 2: Legend''
* ''Bombshells: Hell's Belles''
* ''Bonsai Blast''
* ''Brain Genius''
* ''Brain Genius 2''
* ''Brain Genius 2 Deluxe''
* ''Brain Genius Deluxe''
* ''Brian Lara International Cricket 2007''
* ''Britney Spears: American Dream''
* ''
Bush vs. Kerry Boxing
''Bush vs. Kerry Boxing'' is a boxing video game developed and published by Sorrent for mobile phones. It was released in North America on August 22, 2004.
The game allows the player to choose to play as either George W. Bush or John Kerry to fi ...
''
* ''
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare''
*
''Call of Duty: Black Ops Mobile''
* ''
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Force Recon'' (based on ''
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'')
* ''
Call of Duty: World at War''
* ''Cannons''
* ''Cannons Tournament''
* ''Car Town''
* ''
Centipede
Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...
''
* ''Chaos Engine''
* ''Chu Chu Rocket''
* ''Cluedo''
* ''Cluedo SFX''
* ''
Concentration
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', '' number concentration'' ...
''
* ''Codename: KND MINIGAMES''
* ''Colin McRae DiRT Mobile''
* ''Cooking Dash''
* ''Contract Killer''
* ''Contract Killer 2''
* ''Contract Killer Sniper''
* ''Contract Killer: Zombies''
* ''Contract Killer: Zombies 2''
* ''Courage the Cowardly Dog: Haunted House''
* ''Cooking Dash''
* ''Crash 'N' Burn''
* ''Crash 'N' Burn Turbo''
* ''Daily Puzzle''
* ''Death Dome''
* ''
Deer Hunter
Deer hunting is hunting for deer for meat and sport, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food source of animal protein that can be obtained through deer huntin ...
''
* ''
Deer Hunter 2''
* ''
Deer Hunter 3''
* ''Deer Hunter Reloaded''
* ''Deer Hunter 3D''
* ''Deer Hunter Challenge''
* ''Deer Hunter Classic''
* ''Design Home''
* ''
Dexter's Laboratory: Security Alert!''
* ''
Diner Dash
''Diner Dash'' is a strategy and time management video game initially developed by Gamelab and published by PlayFirst. It is now owned and published by Glu Mobile. It was one of the top-selling downloadable games of all-time, available in multiple ...
''
* ''Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue''
* ''Diner Dash 3''
* ''Diner Dash 5: Boom!''
* ''Diner Dash: Flo on the Go''
* ''Diner Dash: Flo Through Time''
* ''Diner Dash: Hometown Hero''
* ''Diner Dash Adventures'' (
App Store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
)
* ''Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores''
* ''Disney Sorcerer's Arena''
* ''Dominoes''
* ''Dragon Island''
* ''
Driver 3
''Driver 3'' (stylized as ''DRIV3R'') is a 2004 action-adventure game, the third installment in the ''Driver'' series. It was developed by Reflections Interactive, published by Atari, and released on PlayStation 2, Xbox and mobile phones in J ...
'' (mobile version)
* ''
Driver: Vegas''
* ''Ed, Edd n Eddy: Giant Jawbreakers''
* ''Enchant U''
* ''Eternity Warriors''
* ''Eternity Warriors 2''
* ''Eternity Warriors 3''
* ''everGirl everGems''
* ''
Family Feud
''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, the ...
''
* ''Family Guy: Time Warped''
* ''
Family Guy: Uncensored''
* ''Fatal Force: Earth Assault''
* ''Foster's Home: Balloon Bonanza''
* ''FOX Sports Football '06''
* ''Frontline Commando''
* ''Frontline Commando 2''
* ''Frontline Commando: D-Day''
* ''Frontline Commando: WW2 Shooter''
* ''
Game of Life
''The Game of Life'', also known as ''Life'', is an 1860 board game by Milton Bradley.
Game of Life also often refers to:
*Conway's Game of Life, in mathematics, a cellular automaton
Game of Life or The Game of Life may also refer to:
Games
* ' ...
''
* ''Gears & Guts''
* ''Get Cookin''
* ''Glyder''
* ''
Glyder 2
''Glyder 2'' is a mobile tilt-control flying adventure game developed by Glu Mobile and released on December 16, 2009.
Critical reception
The game has a rating of 93% on Metacritic based on 5 critic reviews.
AppSmile said "Replay value is very ...
''
* ''Guitar Hero 5''
* ''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''
* ''
Gun Bros
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...
'' (
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design lan ...
)
* ''Hero Project''
* ''Hercules''
* ''High Heels MahJong: In Her Shoes''
* ''Hog On the Run''
* ''HOYLE 6-in-1 Solitaire Pro''
* ''Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs''
* ''Ice Age: The Meltdown''
* ''
Indestructible''
* ''Insaniquarium Deluxe''
* ''Inuyasha''
* ''Jamaican Bobsled''
* ''Kasparov Chess''
* ''
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood''
* ''Kendall and Kylie''
* ''Katy Perry Pop''
* ''Kingdom of Heaven''
* ''
Lemmings''
* ''Lemmings Return''
* ''Lil Kingdom''
* ''LMA Manager 2008''
* ''Love a Lemming''
* ''Manchester United Football''
* ''
Marc Ecko's Getting Up''
* ''Mech Battalion''
* ''Men vs. Machines''
* ''Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation''
* ''MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2018''
* ''MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2019''
* ''MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2020''
* ''MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2021''
* ''
Monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
''
* ''MONOPOLY HERE & NOW''
* ''Monsters vs. Aliens''
* ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith''
* ''My Dragon''
* ''Nicki Minaj: The Empire''
* ''
Project Gotham Racing Mobile
''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Studios (Xbox and Xbox 360) and Sega (Dreamcast). The series appeared on the Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, ...
''
* ''
QuizUp''
* ''Racing Rivals''
* ''Ren & Stimpy Pinball''
* ''Restaurant DASH with
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a to ...
''
* ''Reversi''
* ''Robots''
* ''Samurai VS Zombies Defence''
* ''Samubies Defense 2''
* ''Scooby-Doo!: Castle Capers''
* ''Scooby-Doo! 2: Dark Dungeons''
* ''Shadowalker''
* ''SIMON''
* ''Small Street''
* ''Sniper X''
* ''Space Monkey''
* ''Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe''
* ''
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions'' (DS version)
* ''
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows'' (DS version)
* ''SpongeBob SquarePants: Prom of Doom''
* ''Star Blitz''
* ''Stardom: The A-List''
* ''Stardom: Hollywood''
* ''Stranded''
* ''Stranded: Mysteries of Time''
* ''Super KO Boxing 2''
* ''Super KO Boxing!''
* ''Tap Sports Baseball 2015''
* ''Tap Sports Baseball 2016''
* ''Tap Sports Baseball 2017''
* ''Tavern Quest''
* ''The Chaos Engine''
* ''The Flintstones Bedrock Bowling''
* ''The Flintstones: Grocery Hunt''
* ''The Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Defense''
* ''The Powerpuff Girls: Bad Mojo''
* ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also i ...
''
* ''The Swift Life''
* ''Tom and Jerry: Cheese Chase''
* ''Tom and Jerry: Food Fight''
* ''
Tony Hawk: Vert''
* ''Terminator Genisys: Revolution''
* ''Transformers'' (based on
the film of the same name)
* ''
Transformers G1: Awakening''
* ''
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen''
* ''VBirds''
* ''Virtua Tennis''
* ''Wacky Races''
* ''Watchmen'' (based on
the film of the same name)
* ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
''
* ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Celebrity Edition''
* ''World Series of Poker – Hold'em Legend''
* ''World Series of Poker – Pro Challenge''
* ''World Series of Poker Player Advisor''
* ''World Series of Poker: Texas Hold'em''
* ''Yogi Bear Pic-A-Nic''
* ''
Zuma''
References
External links
*
{{Electronic Arts
2005 establishments in California
Companies based in San Francisco
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Mobile game companies
American companies established in 2005
Video game companies established in 2005
Video game companies of the United States
Video game development companies
Video game publishers
Electronic Arts
2021 mergers and acquisitions