Eidos Interactive, the London, UK-based publisher of the Tomb Raider series, has reached an agreement with Rockpool Games to acquire the company. The deal also includes Rockpool's two sister companies, Ironstone Partners and SoGoPlay.

　　Rockpool is based in Manchester and employs 36 staff. It has worked on bringing titles such as Worms, MotoGP, Ronnie O'Sullivan, and TOCA Race Driver to mobile phones. Sister company Ironstone Partners is a licensing company and manages IP including the Epyx back catalog, and SoGoPlay is a developer and publisher of casual mobile-phone games.

　　The Eidos New Media division was set up in 2003 to focus on "emerging platforms and technologies," and it has released mobile versions of games including Tomb Raider, Hitman, Championship Manager, and Thief.

　　Eidos' chief executive, Jane Cavanagh, commented, "We believe that the global market for mobile games is set to grow considerably over the next few years from around $3 billion in 2006 to $10 billion in 2009, and that casual games are also becoming increasingly important."