Caesars Interactive Entertainment announced it was forming a social poker development studio to expand the free-to-play World Series of Poker game through its Playtika division.
The Montreal-based subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment, which owns the World Series of Poker brand, will add a social gaming format of the tournament to its free-to-play slot machine, casino game and bingo franchises.
Caesars acquired Playtika a few years ago to expand its social gaming platform.
A Montreal-based team of 19 employees will form the core of Caesars Interactive’s studio. The plan is to expand and enhance the features and functionality of the current World Series of Poker game.
Playtika is responsible for all of Caesars Interactive’s social and mobile games assets.
Caesars Interactive acquired certain World Series of Poker game assets and intellectual property from Electronic Arts (EA).
Under the agreement, EA transferred global rights and ownership of its World Series of Poker game for mobile devices and Facebook to Caesars Interactive, ending a previous licensing agreement.
Financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed.