Arkadium acquires Gamelab.com game development firm

Arkadium, a maker of advergame portals for well-known brands, said today it is moving further into game development with the acquisition of New York-based Gamelab.com.
The acquisition should help Arkadium make more and better casual online game sites. Arkadium currently creates platforms for casual online games where the game and portal are ads for a certain brand. It has a network of 5 million casual game fans who play web games that advertise brands such as ABC , AARP, or ESPN. On the AARP’s web site, for instance, Arkadium created the Driver Safety web game for senior citizens.
Founded by well-known game designer Eric Zimmerman, Gamelab.com focuses on creating independent games and training video game designers. Zimmerman confirmed that Gamelab had closed its doors earlier this year, so it’s not clear exactly what Arkadium has bought.
 
As part of the announcement, Gamelab.com will introduce a series of free game design work shops for New York area game developers. The acquisition is aimed at bringing focus to the games being developed in New York, said Kenny Rosenblatt, chief executive of Arkadium.
Gamelab.com gave rise to a number of big titles such as Diner Dasy and Subway Scramble. Zimmerman will teach “The Game Development Design Series” workshops starting early next year. Arkadium was founded in 2001 and has 85 employees. It is based in New York and has an office in the Ukraine.
 
In the summer, Arkadium acquired Advergame.com and relaunched another gaming portal, GreatDayGames.com. The efforts are part of a plan to step up the number of ways that marketers can reach gamers. It is also adding social features to its ntework of sponsored game portals.
The company’s main rival in advergames is Blockdot, which differs in that it focuses on creating online games based on specific brands rather than offering entire portals for Web sites. Other rivals are Real Networks and Bunchball. The company is privately funded and is part of the Zelnick Media portfolio.