Fan
Who was Playdom?
Playdom was founded in 2008 by Dan Yue, Chris Wang and Ling Xiao, and was based in California's Bay Area. It started with games on MySpace, such as Mobsters and Sorority Life, before moving to Facebook in 2009. It grew quickly by buying other studios: Green Patch and Trippert Labs in 2009, then Three Melons, Hive7 and Metaplace in 2010.
On 27 July 2010 Disney announced it was buying Playdom for $563.2 million, plus up to $200 million more based on performance. At the time, Playdom's games had about 42 million monthly players.
Every major Playdom game
| Game | Launched | What it was | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobsters | 2008 | A mafia role-playing game, one of Playdom's first hits on MySpace before moving to Facebook. | Closed |
| Sorority Life | 2008 | A social life sim that started on MySpace and came to Facebook in March 2009. | Closed in early 2014 |
| Wild Ones | 2009 | Turn-based pet battles on destructible maps, with 34 pets and about 230 weapons. | Closed in August 2013 |
| Social City | 2010 | A city builder made with PushButton Labs. | Closed in December 2011 |
| City of Wonder | 2010 | A civilisation builder that Inside Social Games named the top Facebook game of 2010. | Closed |
| Bola | 2010 | A soccer game made by Three Melons, the Argentinian studio Playdom bought in March 2010. | Closed |
| Tiki Farm | – | A tropical farming game. | Closed on 16 July 2011 |
| Gardens of Time | 2011 | A hidden-object game and one of the biggest Facebook games of 2011. | Sold to RockYou in April 2014 |
| Marvel: Avengers Alliance | 2012 | A turn-based Marvel role-playing game, made with Offbeat Creations. | Closed on 30 September 2016 |
| Words of Wonder | 2013 | A word game under the Disney brand. | Sold to RockYou in April 2014 |
| Marvel: Avengers Alliance Tactics | 2014 | A tactical spin-off of Avengers Alliance. | Closed in October 2014 |
What happened to Playdom
- Wild Ones shuts down after nearly four years.
- The Playdom.com versions of the games close, and Disney sells Gardens of Time, Words of Wonder, City Girl and Kitchen Scramble to RockYou.
- Disney announces it will close its remaining Playdom games.
- Marvel: Avengers Alliance and its mobile sequel shut down, the last Playdom games. The studio becomes part of Disney Interactive.
Playdom's legacy
Most people remember Playdom for Wild Ones, its turn-based pet battle game that reached about 3.8 million monthly players in 2010. Nothing from Playdom can be played today, but Wild Wars carries the Wild Ones idea forward, free on iPhone, Android and PC.
Play Wild Wars freeMore old Facebook games
Playdom FAQ
What games did Playdom make?
Playdom's best-known games were Wild Ones, Mobsters, Sorority Life, Social City, City of Wonder, Gardens of Time and Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
Is Playdom still around?
No. Disney closed Playdom's last games, Marvel: Avengers Alliance and its mobile sequel, on 30 September 2016, and the studio was folded into Disney Interactive.
Who owned Playdom?
Playdom was founded in 2008 by Dan Yue, Chris Wang and Ling Xiao. The Walt Disney Company bought it in July 2010 for $563.2 million, plus up to $200 million more based on performance.
Can I still play Wild Ones?
No, Playdom closed it in August 2013. The closest game today is Wild Wars, free on iPhone, Android and PC.
