100 Million Playfish Games Installed in Only 18 Months

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Playfish, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing social games companies, today announced that 100 million of its games have been installed by players only 18 months after the company was founded. The sheer number and rapid rate at which Playfish’s seven titles have been installed by its player community via social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo is further evidence of how players around the world are embracing the growing phenomenon of social gaming.

The achievement of 100 million installed Playfish games in 18 months is significant when measured against other icons from different eras of gaming. For instance, the world renowned board game Monopoly® took approximately 45 years¹ to reach that milestone, while The Sims™ – the best selling PC game of all time and third most popular video game series worldwide – accomplished it in eight years².

"Social games are bringing a fundamental shift to video games - away from a single player-focused activity to one in which people play with their real-life friends," says Atul Bagga, vice president, gaming research for ThinkEquity. "By putting the emphasis on interaction between friends, social games have expanded the potential reach beyond traditional video games to an entirely new, non-gaming audience."

Playfish currently has more than 30 million monthly active players across its seven games, each of which has been a top 10 hit on Facebook. Pet Society, the company’s top game, is played by 12 million people each month, making it one of the most popular games on Facebook and amongst the social utility’s largest applications. Playfish’s newest hit is Restaurant City, with players having created more than 5 million eateries in the game’s first 10 weeks since launching in April.

“When we founded Playfish, our goal was to change the way the world plays games by creating experiences that are social and connected between friends,” says Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and Co-founder of Playfish. “Reaching 100 million installs in such a short time is clear proof of social gaming’s popularity and how loyal, enthusiastic and deeply engaged the Playfish community is.”

About Playfish

Playfish is one of the world's largest and fastest growing social games companies. The company combines creativity, innovation and originality to create games for friends to play together over social and mobile platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Google, Bebo, iPhone and Android. Playfish's mission is to change the way people play games by providing more social and connected experiences. Each of the company's seven games has been a top 10 hit on Facebook, including Pet Society, which is one of the platform's most popular games and enjoyed by more than 12 million people every month. Playfish is backed by Accel Partners and Index Ventures, and has offices in London, San Francisco, Beijing and Tromso, Norway.

¹ Interpolated data from “The Monopoly Book: Strategy and Tactics of the World’s Most Popular Game” – Maxine Brady; Hasbro website – “Monopoly History”

² Associated Press, April 16, 2008

Playfish press assets can be downloaded at http://www.playfish.com/?page=press