∞ EA acquires Real Racing, Flight Control maker

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced plans to acquire Firemint Pty Ltd., the software developer responsible for the hit iOS games Real Racing and Flight Control. Financial details weren’t disclosed, but EA said the deal will close within four weeks.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Firemint is based in Melbourne, Australia, where they will stay, according to a recent post from Firemint CEO Rob Murray.

While Firemint hasn’t had the largest library of iOS games on the market, they’ve distinguished themselves for having exceptional games that have been critical and popular successes. Flight Control has you ushering airplanes and helicopters onto runways and landing pads by drawing flight patterns with your fingertip; Real Racing is a realistic auto racing game in which you use the iPad or iPhone to tilt like a steering wheel.

In his blog post, Murray noted that while most people have an association of them purely as an iOS game developer, Firemint’s genesis dates back to 1999. The company did work for hire for companies including EA Mobile, so Firemint has some experience with their new owners. “We learned our skills working with the same people that we are partnering with today,” he said.

Most recently Firemint gained headlines when they introduced an update to Real Racing 2 HD, the iPad-native version of their latest Real Racing game. The updated incorporated full 1080i video output, enabling users to play the game on a big-screen TV using an Apple video adapter connected to the iPad.

At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, Firemint announced Agent Squeek, a new game currently in development featuring a secret agent mouse who has to steal cheese from under the noses of patrolling cats.

Firemint itself acquired game developer Infinite Interactive in January, 2011. Infinite Interactive was responsible for developing the popular game Puzzle Quest.