PopCap hits Android through Sony Ericsson deal

Mobile games developer PopCap, recently acquired by Electronic Arts, has struck a global agreement with handset vendor Sony Ericsson to pre-load its games on Xperia devices.

The deal initially includes the Ericsson Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro and also marks the arrival of PopCap’s game titles on Android devices in Europe. PopCap is the maker of popular titles such as Bejewelled, Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle and Chuzzle, which will start to appear on Sony Ericsson handsets this summer.

Users will also be able to purchase PopCap games via a directly integrated billing service on the devices.

Games giant Electronic Arts picked up PopCap for a total of $1.3bn last week, including a performance payout of $550m over the next three years. Mobile gaming is seen as a strong growth market, as illustrated by EA’s purchase last year of Chillingo, publisher of the smash hit Angry Birds.