Over the course of the last five years, Racing Rivals has grown into one of the most hardcore racing games in the world. This loyal community has spent countless hours competing in millions of races in “winner take all” fashion – all in the name of Turf Wars and pink slips.

However, all good things must come to an end… After spending time evaluating Rivals and its future – we’ve decided that it’s time to move on. Simply put, the revenue generated from Racing Rivals unfortunately no longer covers the cost of operations. This was not an easy decision to make.

On March 31st, 2019 – Rivals will be racing off into the sunset, and will be permanently shut down. Current players have until this date to utilize any accumulated virtual currency. We’ll be offering some massive reductions in the cost of crates, installs and repairs in addition to a reduction on timers as you race your way into the history books. Effective immediately, no new in-app purchases will be permitted.

In closing, a resounding and sincere THANK YOU to our extremely driven fans for your loyalty and dedication over the years – we hope you’ve enjoyed playing Racing Rivals as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.
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BREAKING NEWS CIE SOLD THE GAME

WDN4LWDN4L Registered Users 46 Posts
Glu Agrees to Acquire Cie Games
Will Expand Portfolio with the Current Top Grossing Racing Franchise on iOS and Android

San Francisco, Calif. - July 30, 2014 - Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphone and tablet devices, today announced that the company has agreed to acquire Cie Games - creators of Racing Rivals, the leading racing franchise on iOS and Android. Glu agreed to pay total consideration of approximately $100 million - approximately $30 million in cash and approximately $70 million in shares of the company's common stock valued based on the average closing price of Glu's common stock for the ten consecutive trading days through July 29, 2014. Glu expects the acquisition to close by the end of August 2014.

Racing Rivals launched on iOS in August 2013 and nearly one year after launch it is currently ranked as the #27 grossing title in the U.S. App Store. The franchise recently launched cross-platform gameplay on Android through Google Play and currently ranks as the #15 grossing title on Google Play in the U.S. market. Additionally, Racing Rivals maintains strong appeal in major global markets.

"I am very excited to bring the current #1 grossing racing franchise in both the Apple and Google U.S. storefronts to Glu's growing portfolio of IP," said Niccolo de Masi, Glu CEO. "In addition to more than 100 million installs lifetime, Cie Games will bring to Glu high quality studio talent and a profitable operating business. We anticipate the transaction being earnings accretive from its first quarter of consolidation."

De Masi continued, "Cie Games is a fully GaaS-driven studio with deep live-ops expertise and a rich content pipeline for Racing Rivals. Our expectation is that Racing Rivals is still early in the product lifecycle and with Glu's studio resources and global distribution power, it will continue to evolve as a true MMO in the evergreen racing genre."

"The Cie Games acquisition is a continuation of Glu's consolidation strategy commenced with the company's transaction last quarter to bring the Diner Dash franchise to Glu," said de Masi. "We believe our global publishing, monetization, live operations, and distribution capabilities mean we are able to drive greater cumulative lifetime revenues from games such as Diner Dash and Racing Rivals than could be generated standalone."

Cie Games is an award-winning independent developer and publisher of top mobile and social games Racing Rivals and Car Town. Cie Games has entertained millions of players by leveraging its expertise in the racing game genre. Cie Games has positioned itself as a leader in creating compelling and authentic titles for racing enthusiasts by forging partnerships with the biggest automotive and entertainment brands in the world.

"With over 100 million total installs and top grossing positions on the App Store, Google Play and Facebook storefronts, we've had tremendous success with our focus on automotive and racing titles," said Justin Choi, Chairman of Cie Games. "We are just getting started with Racing Rivals and believe there are great things to come for Car Town. We expect that working with Glu will allow the Cie Games team to take each of these franchises to the next level. Cie Games also brings with it our real-time multiplayer gaming technology and expertise. The companies are truly a great fit and we're really excited about their future together."

http://videogamesunderground.com/showthread.php?149-Breaking-news-cie-games-being-bought-out%21&p=278#post278


Glu anticipates that the next version of the popular Facebook game, Car Town, will launch on mobile in 2015.

Racing Rivals is available on the App Store http://bit.ly/1xv3CIn and Google Play http://bit.ly/1poEdyt.

###

Glu Mobile
Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU) is a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphone and tablet devices. Glu is focused on creating compelling original IP games such as CONTRACT KILLER, DEER HUNTER, ETERNITY WARRIORS, and FRONTLINE COMMANDO on a wide range of platforms including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and MAC OS. Glu's unique technology platform enables its titles to be accessible to a broad audience of consumers globally. Founded in 2001, Glu is headquartered in San Francisco with a major office outside Seattle, and international locations in Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia. Consumers can find high-quality entertainment wherever they see the 'g' character logo or at www.glu.com. For live updates, please follow Glu via Twitter at www.twitter.com/glumobile or become a Glu fan at Facebook.com/glumobile.

CONTRACT KILLER, DEER HUNTER, DINER DASH, ETERNITY WARRIORS, FRONTLINE COMMANDO, GLU, GLU MOBILE and the 'g' character logo are trademarks of Glu Mobile Inc.

Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" related to the business of Glu Mobile Inc., including statements regarding the expected benefits of Glu's acquisition of Cie Games; the expected closing date of the acquisition; the expectation that Cie Games will bring to Glu high quality studio talent and a profitable operating business; the expectation that the transaction will be earnings accretive from its first quarter of consolidation; the expectation that Racing Rivals is still early in the product lifecycle and with Glu's studio resources and global distribution power, will continue to evolve as a true MMO in the evergreen racing genre; our belief that our global publishing, monetization, live operations, and distribution capabilities mean we are able to drive greater cumulative lifetime revenues from games such as Diner Dash and Racing Rivals than could be generated standalone; Cie Games' belief that it is just getting started with Racing Rivals and that there are great things to come for Car Town; Cie Games' expectation that working with Glu will allow the Cie Games team to take each of the Racing Rivals and Car Town franchises to the next level; and our expectation that the next version of Car Town will launch on mobile in 2015. These forward-looking statements are subject to material risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Investors should consider important risk factors, which include: the risk that Glu will not be able to complete the acquisition of Cie Games; the risk that Glu will be unable to successfully integrate Cie Games and its employees and achieve expected synergies, the risk that Glu will have difficulty retaining key Cie Games employees; the risk that consumer demand for smartphones, tablets and next-generation platforms does not grow as significantly as we anticipate or that we will be unable to capitalize on any such growth; the risk that we do not realize a sufficient return on our investment with respect to our efforts to develop free-to-play games for smartphones, tablets and next-generation platforms, the risk that we will not be able to maintain our good relationships with Apple and Google; the risk that our development expenses for games for smartphones, tablets and next-generation platforms are greater than we anticipate or that we encounter development delays; and the risk that the mobile games market, particularly with respect to free-to-play gaming, is smaller than anticipated; and other risks detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 12, 2014 and our other SEC filings. You can locate these reports through our website athttp://www.glu.com/investors. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Contacts:
Jason Enriquez
Glu Mobile Inc.
PR@glu.com
(415) 800-6263
Prev1

Comments

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    2slow ty2slow ty Registered Users 509 Posts
    lol wut wut
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    chEz130chEz130 Registered Users 746 Posts
    Makes sense why bug fixes and updates have been delayed. Why fix it if you're selling.
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    Awwweh snap nowAwwweh snap now Registered Users 836 Posts
    hope they make the game better
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    Up and AwayUp and Away Registered Users 8 Posts
    Is this real lol
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    Prosthetic HeadProsthetic Head Registered Users 15 Posts
    Glu is much easier to hack than CIE though, so we'll see.
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    Old WomanOld Woman Registered Users 2,799 Posts
    Interesting to say the least
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    cookieMonster209cookieMonster209 Registered Users 78 Posts
    That's wats up
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    gypsyshowdowngypsyshowdown Registered Users 344 Posts
    Never a good thing when games get sold to bigger companies..my guess is its going to become a restricted greed machine..I guess we will see..maybe I'm just in a ranty mood
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    he1zen8erghe1zen8erg Registered Users 57 Posts
    So CIE has probably never been working to fix anything. Specially if the game was to be sold in the first place. All their customers complaining for weeks now and it seems nothing gets done. If this is true then I hope this is going to a company that would be willing to do what needs to be done to provide the consumers with the product they are paying for.
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    Chris.erChris.er Registered Users 131 Posts
    This game will be a million times better now that these money hungry vultures are gone! Good faking riddens to those tools.
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    WDN4LWDN4L Registered Users 46 Posts


    printer.gif View printer-friendly version


    << Back


    GLU AGREES TO ACQUIRE CIE GAMES


    Glu Agrees to Acquire Cie Games
    Will Expand Portfolio with the Current Top Grossing Racing Franchise on iOS and Android
    San Francisco, Calif. - July 30, 2014- Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphone and tablet devices, today announced that the company has agreed to acquire Cie Games - creators of Racing Rivals, the leading racing franchise on iOS and Android. Glu agreed to pay total consideration of approximately $100 million - approximately $30 million in cash and approximately $70 million in shares of the company's common stock valued based on the average closing price of Glu's common stock for the ten consecutive trading days through July 29, 2014. Glu expects the acquisition to close by the end of August 2014.
    Racing Rivals launched on iOS in August 2013 and nearly one year after launch it is currently ranked as the #27 grossing title in the U.S. App Store. The franchise recently launched cross-platform gameplay on Android through Google Play and currently ranks as the #15 grossing title on Google Play in the U.S. market. Additionally, Racing Rivals maintains strong appeal in major global markets.
    "I am very excited to bring the current #1 grossing racing franchise in both the Apple and Google U.S. storefronts to Glu's growing portfolio of IP," said Niccolo de Masi, Glu CEO. "In addition to more than 100 million installs lifetime, Cie Games will bring to Glu high quality studio talent and a profitable operating business. We anticipate the transaction being earnings accretive from its first quarter of consolidation."
    De Masi continued, "Cie Games is a fully GaaS-driven studio with deep live-ops expertise and a rich content pipeline for Racing Rivals. Our expectation is that Racing Rivals is still early in the product lifecycle and with Glu's studio resources and global distribution power, it will continue to evolve as a true MMO in the evergreen racing genre."
    "The Cie Games acquisition is a continuation of Glu's consolidation strategy commenced with the company's transaction last quarter to bring the Diner Dash franchise to Glu," said de Masi. "We believe our global publishing, monetization, live operations, and distribution capabilities mean we are able to drive greater cumulative lifetime revenues from games such as Diner Dash and Racing Rivals than could be generated standalone."
    Cie Games is an award-winning independent developer and publisher of top mobile and social games Racing Rivals and Car Town. Cie Games has entertained millions of players by leveraging its expertise in the racing game genre. Cie Games has positioned itself as a leader in creating compelling and authentic titles for racing enthusiasts by forging partnerships with the biggest automotive and entertainment brands in the world.
    "With over 100 million total installs and top grossing positions on the App Store, Google Play and Facebook storefronts, we've had tremendous success with our focus on automotive and racing titles," said Justin Choi, Chairman of Cie Games. "We are just getting started with Racing Rivals and believe there are great things to come for Car Town. We expect that working with Glu will allow the Cie Games team to take each of these franchises to the next level. Cie Games also brings with it our real-time multiplayer gaming technology and expertise. The companies are truly a great fit and we're really excited about their future together."
    Glu anticipates that the next version of the popular Facebook game, Car Town, will launch on mobile in 2015.
    Racing Rivals is available on the App Store http://bit.ly/1xv3CIn and Google Playhttp://bit.ly/1poEdyt.
    ###
    Glu Mobile
    Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU) is a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphone and tablet devices. Glu is focused on creating compelling original IP games such as CONTRACT KILLER, DEER HUNTER, ETERNITY WARRIORS, and FRONTLINE COMMANDO on a wide range of platforms including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and MAC OS. Glu's unique technology platform enables its titles to be accessible to a broad audience of consumers globally. Founded in 2001, Glu is headquartered in San Francisco with a major office outside Seattle, and international locations in Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia. Consumers can find high-quality entertainment wherever they see the 'g' character logo or at www.glu.com. For live updates, please follow Glu via Twitter at www.twitter.com/glumobile or become a Glu fan at Facebook.com/glumobile.
    CONTRACT KILLER, DEER HUNTER, DINER DASH, ETERNITY WARRIORS, FRONTLINE COMMANDO, GLU, GLU MOBILE and the 'g' character logo are trademarks of Glu Mobile Inc.

    Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" related to the business of Glu Mobile Inc., including statements regarding the expected benefits of Glu's acquisition of Cie Games; the expected closing date of the acquisition; the expectation that Cie Games will bring to Glu high quality studio talent and a profitable operating business; the expectation that the transaction will be earnings accretive from its first quarter of consolidation; the expectation that Racing Rivals is still early in the product lifecycle and with Glu's studio resources and global distribution power, will continue to evolve as a true MMO in the evergreen racing genre; our belief that our global publishing, monetization, live operations, and distribution capabilities mean we are able to drive greater cumulative lifetime revenues from games such as Diner Dash and Racing Rivals than could be generated standalone; Cie Games' belief that it is just getting started with Racing Rivals and that there are great things to come for Car Town; Cie Games' expectation that working with Glu will allow the Cie Games team to take each of the Racing Rivals and Car Town franchises to the next level; and our expectation that the next version of Car Town will launch on mobile in 2015. These forward-looking statements are subject to material risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Investors should consider important risk factors, which include: the risk that Glu will not be able to complete the acquisition of Cie Games; the risk that Glu will be unable to successfully integrate Cie Games and its employees and achieve expected synergies, the risk that Glu will have difficulty retaining key Cie Games employees; the risk that consumer demand for smartphones, tablets and next-generation platforms does not grow as significantly as we anticipate or that we will be unable to capitalize on any such growth; the risk that we do not realize a sufficient return on our investment with respect to our efforts to develop free-to-play games for smartphones, tablets and next-generation platforms, the risk that we will not be able to maintain our good relationships with Apple and Google; the risk that our development expenses for games for smartphones, tablets and next-generation platforms are greater than we anticipate or that we encounter development delays; and the risk that the mobile games market, particularly with respect to free-to-play gaming, is smaller than anticipated; and other risks detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 12, 2014 and our other SEC filings. You can locate these reports through our website at http://www.glu.com/investors. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
    Media Contacts:
    Jason Enriquez
    Glu Mobile Inc.
    PR@glu.com
    (415) 800-6263
    0?pageName=Glu%20Agrees%20to%20Acquire%20Cie%20Games&c1=1843230&c2=D=Referer

    HUG#1843230





    http://videogamesunderground.com/sho...&p=278#post278
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    NiNja da HatchieNiNja da Hatchie Registered Users 715 Posts
    At least Glu Mobile is frequent with their update. I see this as a good thing.
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    bryan127bryan127 Registered Users 169 Posts
    They didn't sell the game they sold themselves to Glu
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    pistolapistola Registered Users 437 Posts
    i cant be worse.
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    JAVIERJAVIER Registered Users 3 Posts
    So is the turf wars still going on in few hours lol
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    Samson51Samson51 Registered Users 16 Posts
    Now we know why they have done nothing to fix the game. They give us there speech all the time how they love there customers. The only thing they love is our money. Seeing this everyone should stop spending there hard money on these Idiots.
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    RLICRLIC Registered Users 9 Posts
    Yes. This is happening; http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=207033&p=irol-news&nyo=0 And as said up top, GLU is much much easier to hack, which might be a big problem...
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    SmokiN YaaSmokiN Yaa Registered Users 152 Posts
    How long do u think itll take for them to start addressing and fixing everything? Will u take weeks or u think theyll hop right to all the problems? Hopefully they speed up customer service..10 days for a response is just crazy...
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    nobrakes4menobrakes4me Registered Users 310 Posts
    one would think that most of the game function will continue as it is, being the code is there. I may expect to see some additional offline content added. It will likely switch to using GLU credits somehow rather than gems. maybe a more realistic pricing scheme to bring more revenue in their doors rather than player to player sales.

    My speculation at least
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    bryan127bryan127 Registered Users 169 Posts
    They might add a fuel system like their other games and ruin the game
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    KrisKrowerKrisKrower Registered Users 100 Posts
    SmokiN Yaa wrote: »
    How long do u think itll take for them to start addressing and fixing everything? Will u take weeks or u think theyll hop right to all the problems? Hopefully they speed up customer service..10 days for a response is just crazy...

    well glu won't get the company for another month, so I'd say at least a month and a half.
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    SmokiN YaaSmokiN Yaa Registered Users 152 Posts
    They should put an option to bet gems along w cash...
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    DRDANKODRDANKO Registered Users 16 Posts
    I have played Cie games for years now and the same thing happened with car town streets. They add and add til the game doesn't even load. I have shared this with the community in game since day one on iOS. The real idiots here are the ppl paying for gems. You really want to give these ppl ur money. All I can say is I TOLD YOU SO. -Dr Danko
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    The MovementThe Movement Registered Users 39 Posts
    Im looking forward to this actually glus been around since the beginning and I feel they will only enhance to the game and unlock its potential! Who remembers gun bros back in the day that @$!& was off the hook!
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    2slow ty2slow ty Registered Users 509 Posts
    and glu wont get it for another month or so then they have to work on updates......


    see you guys in the next turf in 2 months lmao
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    bustayerassbustayerass Registered Users 5 Posts
    Glu would be buying the cie team as well so it would benefit everyone to continue with the game
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    HallucinationHallucination Registered Users 384 Posts
    Cie sold the game to glu? O.o
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    Chris.erChris.er Registered Users 131 Posts
    Lmao wouldn't doubt that don't think they really care anymore they made 100 mil selling the company! So I'm sure turf is done till this other company fixes what's going on!
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    brav0manbrav0man Registered Users 269 Posts
    If Cie sold the game would that mean if currency changes, such as gems to something else, would that mean anyone who purchased gems lose what they bought? And if the game is made to have a fresh start how would we get back what we had if people could just lie?
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    Rob96Rob96 Registered Users 1,070 Posts
    Hopefully they don't stop trading through forums!
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