PopCap Releasing Zuma Blitz On Facebook 2

Casual games developer PopCap announced that it will release a new and free social gaming adaptation of its popular Zuma title to Facebook next month. The Zuma franchise is a clone of Mitchell Corporation's Puzz Loop/Magnetica series, essentially challenging players to shoot colored balls at a moving line of spheres, clearing segments of the line by matching the colors of the spheres and hitting power-ups scattered throughout the line. Zuma Blitz, which will "roll out gradually" with a beta launch in approximately three weeks, offers new content and social features like weekly tournaments, leaderboards, achievements, an experience points system for unlocking more features/capabilities, and a virtual currency system for buying power-ups. This upcoming release follows another major social game adaptation for one of PopCap's popular franchises, Bejeweled Blitz, which has attracted almost 30 million users since its launch 18 months ago and now has 10.6 monthly active players, according to figures from AppData. Earlier this week at Brighton's Develop Conference, PopCap senior designer David Bishop said that the company is working on both original social games and adaptations for Facebook. Joystiq reports that he mentioned social features for another popular title, Peggle, specifically. "Once again PopCap is bringing a beloved game to the Facebook platform and enhancing already-successful game play with social features and functionality," says Facebook platform manager Gareth Davis. "Zuma Blitz will provide a fun and engaging way for our more than 400 million users to play with their friends on Facebook."