Hasbro has shut down its Backflip Studios mobile game developer in Boulder, Colorado, according to social media posts. The toy and entertainment company bought a 70% stake of Backflip Studios for $112 million back in 2013.
Backflip was responsible for games like Army of Darkness: Defense, DragonVale, and Paper Toss Friends. Under Hasbro, it focused on making games based on Hasbro brands such as Transformers as well as new versions of DragonVale.
Above: Julian Farrior of Backflip Studios.
Image Credit: Backflip
Julian Farrior, a former Yahoo executive, started the company in the early days of the iPhone in 2009. The company amassed more than 300 million downloads by the time that Hasbro made the investment. Farrior was a loquacious fellow and an enthusiastic advocate of mobile gaming when the industry was still trying to find its footing.
Farrior shared early results that helped guide other independent game developers in their quest to make money. Under Hasbro, Backflip expanded to more than 100 people. But over time, the big hits like DragonVale dwindled.