Free-to-play dev Voodoo acquires social platform BeReal

French developer Voodoo Games has bought the BeReal social platform for €500 million (or $536.9 million).

Known for free-to-play games like Helix Jump and Hole.io, Voodoo aims to use BeReal as a way to "strengthen [its] global position." As for BeReal, the tech company wants to "accelerate its growth" using the tech and knowledge Voodoo's learned over the years.

BeReal was founded in 2019, and is chiefly known for being a social platform without likes or followers dictating the experience. Photos also automatically disappear 24 hours after posting, and it currently sports 40 million active users.

Hypercasual possibilities between Voodoo and BeReal

While this isn't the first time games have gotten in bed with social media, this partnership offers interesting possibilities for Voodoo and its hypercasual games.

For founder Alexis Barreyat, Voodoo will allow BeReal to have a "sustainable growth path" previously unavailable. The press release said the company will shoot for new features and growth through "organic and paid marketing across [various] markets."

Voodoo co-founder Alexandre Yadzi noted BeReal's ability to key in on "a universal need to share real, unfiltered experiences with close friends." As part of its push into consumer apps, it hopes to "unlock synergies" with BeReal.

"We are very excited to bring our teams together," said Yadzi, "and leverage Voodoo’s know-how and differentiated technologies to scale BeReal into the iconic social network for authenticity."