Join us today at 1:00 PM PT/4:00 PM ET for a live video summit with former Treasury Secretary Larry SummersJoin Us

Photo by Shutterstock
Exclusive
asia entertainment

Top Mobile Game Developer Playrix Looking to Sell for $3 Billion

Photo: Photo by Shutterstock

Playrix Entertainment, the Russia-based developer of some of the world’s most popular mobile games, is on the market for more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. And a number of Chinese companies, including iDreamSky Technology and FunPlus, have inquired about buying it, the people said.

Playrix makes Gardenscapes and Homescapes, two games similar to Candy Crush. The mobile games, which were launched in 2016 and 2017, respectively, are free to play and earn money from selling virtual items that make the games easier for players. The company last year was the sixth-highest grossing game publisher on Apple’s App Store and the fourth-highest on Google Play, according to research firm Newzoo.

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
The Briefing amazon media/telecom
Amazon Takes Its Time Delivering Second Round of Job Cuts
By Martin Peers · March 20, 2023 5:00 PM PDT
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. Photo via Getty.
Amazon is in the lead! The e-commerce behemoth has moved ahead of Alphabet in the contest to win this year’s IBM Cup, awarded occasionally to the most bureaucratic and slow-moving big tech company around. That’s one takeaway from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s explanation today for cutting another 9,000 jobs, on top of the 18,000 layoffs already announced. Jassy said in November the job cuts flowed...
Latest Briefs
 
New Report to Australian Government Alleges ByteDance Poses Disinformation Threat
By Shai Oster · March 21, 2023
FTX Sues Liquidators of Bahamas Unit
By Akash Pasricha · March 20, 2023
Flagstar Acquires Most of Signature Bank, Excluding Crypto Business
By Aidan Ryan · March 20, 2023
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. Photo by Bloomberg.
Exclusive markets startups
How JPMorgan Maneuvered During the Fall of Silicon Valley Bank
By Lauren Tara LaCapra and Michael Roddan
When Silicon Valley Bank was crumbling last week, eyes turned to the biggest lender in the country—the bank that had stepped in to save failing competitors during the financial crisis in 2008, whose CEO has been called “America’s banker” and whose views and decisions influence the corporate world.
Sarah Nagy gives a demo of her startup, Seek.ai, at an AI event at the San Francisco Wine Society in January. Photography by Laura Morton
First Look startups ai
Boom Times in San Francisco’s AI Underground
By Arielle Pardes
Not even a banking crisis could chill the fever sweeping San Francisco. Last Wednesday, as the tech industry recoiled from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a party was scheduled at the offices of Maverick Ventures in an old army hospital in the Presidio.
Cover art and portraits by Clark Miller
The Big Read
The Instant Oral History of the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
By Abram Brown, Annie Goldsmith, Margaux MacColl, Arielle Pardes, Nick Wingfield and Kaya Yurieff
On a cosmic level, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was a mere blip. The murmurs about trouble began last Wednesday, the panic spread via group texts and Twitter threads on Thursday, the bank went under on Friday, the government got its act together on Saturday, and on Sunday every current and former customer of SVB could breathe a cautious sigh of relief.
FDIC member Dedra Dorn (center left) speaks with individuals in line outside Silicon Valley Bank's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, March 13, 2023. Photo by AP.
Opinion economy
Where the Venture Community Goes From Here
By Hemant Taneja
March 9, 2023, will be remembered as a sad day in Silicon Valley’s history. We have been through crises before—the Japan Inc.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion startups economy
SVB Is Dead. Long Live SVB.
By Jason Pontin
We all know how it began. It started on March 9, when the run on Silicon Valley Bank made the innovation economy totter and threatened a global financial crisis.
A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco, on Monday, March 13, 2023. Photo by AP.
Exclusive startups venture capital
SVB’s $9.5 Billion Venture Unit Included Large Investments in Andreessen, Sequoia, Documents Show
By Kate Clark
As potential buyers circle the remnants of Silicon Valley Bank and its affiliates, one asset could be particularly appealing: the company’s venture capital arm.