Playstack snaps up Magic Fuel Games, mobile studio founded by EA veterans

Publisher Playstack has announced an acquisition of Magic Fuel Games, a mobile studio formed by former Electronic Arts developers. The team previously worked on the SimCity series and is now focused on city builders.

Cityscape: Rebuild

The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed. According to Playstack CEO Harvey Elliott, this acquisition will add new IPs to its portfolio and will help increase the company’s revenue.

“We have long admired the way in which Playstack approaches game publishing, and are thrilled to become part of this exciting organization,” Magic Fuel CEO Kevin Shrapnell said. “Magic Fuel and Playstack have a shared belief in the untapped potential that simulation-based games present, and we are delighted to be able to add our passion and expertise for this genre to that of the Playstack team.”

Shrapnell, who will now also take on a role as COO at Playstack, founded Magic Fuel Games in 2015 along with three other EA veterans: Rajan Tande (CTO), Kip Katsarelis (CPO), and Chi Chan (head of art). This deal also reunites them with Elliot, who worked with them on the SimCity franchise.

The studio has already launched games like World War Bots, Love Cooking, and Fort Stars. It is now working on Cityscape: Rebuild, a city builder for mobile platforms.

Founded in 2016, Playstack publishes games for PC, console, and mobile. Its portfolio includes titles like Mortal Shell, Sniper vs. Thieves, and Survival City.