Playa Games Continues International Growth

HAMBURG, February 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hamburg-based browser game publisher Playa Games GmbH ( http://www.playa-games.com) has moved to its new address at Alstertor 9, 20095 Hamburg, Germany. "We now have larger premises. The move is a logical step for us since we've also just taken on more staff," says CEO Hannes Beuck.

The company has also opened a North American office in Vancouver's World Trade Center. The Canadian metropolis, nicknamed "Hollywood North", is known for its large cluster of computer game developers. The North American office will be headed up by gaming media veteran Heinrich Lenhardt who was the co-founder and chief editor of computer game magazines Power Play, PC Player and Europe's leading MMO portal buffed.de. Of his new role as Business Development Director North America for Playa Games, Lenhardt says: "As an avid player of Shakes & Fidget and SoccerStar I'm thrilled to help Playa Games increase the international audience for its high-quality games."

Playa Games growth in office and staff size is the result of the continuing increase in revenue and users. During fiscal year 2010, the publisher of browser games such as Shakes & Fidget and SoccerStar has achieved a tenfold increase in revenue to around EUR7 million and anticipates a further significant revenue increase in 2011. "In our industry the sustained growth of game players signifies long-term success," says Beuck. "We are very pleased that over 50,000 gamers have already registered in advance for our upcoming title BloodGame even before it has launched."

Playa Games is renowned for the outstanding quality of its browser games, which can be attributed to the company founders' experience in the core-gamer market for PC retail games. This allows Playa Games to benefit from more know-how than most browser game developers. The company has won a number of awards which are a testament to the exceptional quality of its games. Most recently, Playa Games brought home the "GameStar Award 2010" in the "Best Browser Game" category, beating competitors such as Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and Bigpoint.

Playa Games (http://www.playa-games.com) has been recognized for being the fastest growing developer of successful browser games in 2010 by Software-Initiative Deutschland (SID). The role-playing game "Shakes & Fidget" and the soccer game "SoccerStar" are regarded as milestones in the browser gaming sector. According to the awarding body SID, Playa Games, managed by CEO Hannes Beuck, is characterized by the outstanding quality of its browser games thanks to the staff's experience in the PC retail games sector: "This know-how gives the company a significant quality advantage over other browser games developers" - (quote from the speech given by Software-Initiative Deutschland while awarding the Wachstumspreis 2010).

Further information: Playa Games GmbH, Suite 404, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver BC, V6C 3E2, Canada. Phone: +1-604-641-1280; Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.playa-games.com

PR agency: euro.marcom.pr. Phone: +49-611-97315-0; Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.euromarcom.de

SOURCE Playa Games GmbH