Founded 2000
Location Dublin
Employees 475
Key staff John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka, founders
URL www.popcap.com
Selected softography Bejeweled, Feeding Frenzy, Chuzzle, Peggle, Plants Vs Zombies, Zuma
Current projects Peggle for iPad, unannounced social project
Orange walls, giant zombie heads and brightly coloured Chuzzles absolutely everywhere you look – even if you didn’t know before you arrived, it would hard to mistake these offices for anyone’s but PopCap’s. And it’s perhaps only when you’re bombarded with all of them at once that it hits you just how recognisable PopCap’s creations are, lending the developer’s titles an appeal which reaches far beyond the traditional gamer.
That reach is further hammered home when we’re shown to the room in which today’s meeting will take place. Encircling the table on every wall are clippings from the press. Starting with coverage from the higher end of the videogame magazine market, the press interest works round the room until it reaches gossip mag articles in which celebrities wax lyrical about Bejeweled, and the playing habits of OAPs dubbed ‘Nantendo’ are revealed to include PopCap’s output.
Senior director of international PR Cathy Orr and general manager for Europe Paul Breslin
“Our remit was to be the mobile centre of excellence within PopCap,” PopCap’s senior director of international PR Cathy Orr tells us. “When we started five years ago it was pre-smartphones and social networks and the landscape was entirely different. So we’ve watched the whole space evolve, and we’re delighted we got that role now because it’s such an exciting space to be in.”
“It’s great from our European perspective that we get to work on PopCap’s hottest franchises and on some of the hottest platforms,” adds general manager for Europe Paul Breslin, before going on to list some of the projects the Dublin site has been responsible for which include Bejeweled Live for Windows Phone 7 and Plants Vs Zombies’ iOS updates. The studio is currently working on a version of Peggle optimised for iPad as well as unannounced social projects.