• by Fern Siegel , July 13, 2011

Electronic Arts Inc, the video game publisher, is buying PopCap Games in a deal worth up to $1.3 billion. The acquisition builds up its games portfolio and lets it better compete with Zynga Inc. EA said it will pay about $650 million in cash and $100 million in common stock upfront for the maker of videogames "Bejeweled" and "Plants vs. Zombies." EA could pay up to an additional $550 million if PopCap reaches certain performance targets in about two years.

EA is investing more in digital content as customers are buying fewer games on discs to play on consoles. Videogame companies are now offering users options to play free or low-priced games on mobile devices, PCs and Facebook. EA, which acquired social-games maker Playfish in 2009 for a deal worth up to $400 million, has been on a buying spree.