PopCap: One quarter of social gamers make purchases

The market for social games is as large as it has ever been, according to casual king Popcap, developer of Bejeweled, Plants vs Zombies, Zuma and Peggle.

The developer told MCV that spending on social games has seen a significant jump, with 26% of social gamers - 31 million players - forking out for in-game items.

That's an 86% increases on 2010's 14%.

Popcap claims there are now 12 million social gamers, up 71% on 2010.

Of these games, a subset Popcap describes as "avid", who play for six hours or more each week, has grown in the last year from 7% to 15%.

PopCap's forays into social gaming have so far been largely confined to Facebook ports of its existing properties. The developer was purchased by EA earlier this year for 750 million.

Thanks, Develop.