GREE acquires game maker Funzio for $210M

Funzio's Crime City.

Japanese gaming company GREE has agreed to acquire mobile game developer Funzio for $210 million, the companies announced today.

San Francisco-based Funzio is the creator of freemium game titles Crime City and Modern War and claims more than 20 million game downloads. The games are free but contain paid downloadable content. Once addicted to the game, players are more likely to spend a little money to beef up their playing experience by adding power-ups or weapons.

"GREE shares our vision of a mobile world where people can play together wherever and whenever they are," Ken Chiu, CEO and founder of Funzio, said in a statement. "We feel strongly that our experience in creating unique games for the mid-core market and GREE's expertise in bringing the mobile games to the worldwide community is a perfect match."

The startup had raised $20 million from IDG Ventures, IDG Capital Partners, and Rick Thompson, and was rumored last month to be closing in on a $50 million funding round that would have resulted in a $350 million valuation.

[Via TechCrunch]