Playfish has produced more than 150 million games on platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Google and iPhone. The London-based company received $17 million in a funding round led by venture capital firms Accel Partners and Index Ventures in October 2008, and will now operate within EA Interactive, a division which is focused on the internet.

Barry Cottle, senior vice president and general manager of EA Interactive, said: ‘Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space.’

In the year ending September, EA reported revenue of $4.2 billion (£2.5 billion).