Google acquires SocialDeck

SocialDeck, the developer behind Shake & Spell, PetHero and Color Connect, has announced that it has "joined the Google team" in an acquisition deal - although the terms of that deal have not been disclosed.

The news was revealed in a statement on the company's website, thanking players for their support - but it didn't offer any details on whether or not the company would continue to develop games along the same lines as current releases, which are primarily iPhone titles.

SocialDeck also runs a platform called Spark, which connects players on iPhone, Blackberry and Facebook, and includes features such as chat, game lobbies, leaderboards and cross-platform gameplay.

Google itself is keen to promote its own answer to the Apple App Store, the Android Market, so one possible option for the developer is creating ports of its current products onto that platform - but it's not known whether future products will be restricted to Android.

"SocialDeck's team and technology is a perfect addition to our current team of engineers in Waterloo, to continue to innovate in the social and mobile web," said Google Canada spokeswoman Wendy Rozeluk, according to The Globe And Mail.

The full statement on SocialDeck's website is as follows:

"Big news! We're super excited to announce that someone found our social games as fun as you have - in this case that 'someone' is Google. SocialDeck has been acquired and we've joined the Google family.

"We started this company with the goal of connecting friends through social games on all kinds of exciting new mobile devices. We've been amazed and humbled by all of the stories and experiences our customers (you!) have shared with us.

"Thank you for your support and for being part of SocialDeck's success so far."