Disney acquires iPhone game developer Tapulous

iPhone gamers who are craving a music game that lets them tap along to the best music in the Disney catalog may soon have their wish, as TechCrunch is reporting that Tapulous, developer of the popular iPhone music games Tap Tap Revenge and Riddim Ribbon, has been acquired by Disney.

Disney has gotten fairly serious about iPhone gaming over the past year, focussing less on publishing titles that rely on popular Disney licenses and putting more effort into original and well-polished offerings like Jelly Car 2, Blackout, and Breakspin. If they’re looking to continue in this direction, acquiring a successful developer like Tapulous seems like a logical next step.

According to TechCrunch, Tapulous’ founder Bart Decrem and COO Andrew Lacy will be joining Disney as VP’s. This move comes hot on the heels of Disney’s recent investment in social game maker Playdom.

It’s hard to say what this really means for the future of Tapulous. On the one hand, it will undoubtedly give the developer access to the wide library of music held by the Disney Music Group. On the other, it’s unknown how this acquisition will affect Tapulous’ relationship with other major music publishers like Warner Music. It should be interesting to see how this unfolds.

While no new titles have been announced at this point, don’t be surprised if you see Tap Tap Hannah Montana before the year is out.

Jim Squires

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Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.