PopCap’s Zuma puzzle game is a favourite of millions of casual gamers and has seen a sequel last year. The company released a Facebook version of its popular Bejeweled game called Bejeweled Blitz. Now PopCap Games has announced that Zuma will soon be debuting on Facebook in a free social form called Zuma Blitz. The Facebook version will pack a host of social features making a first appearance in the game.
“We’ve received a ton of feedback regarding how players consume Bejeweled Blitz and other leading social games, and incorporated a number of those insights into this initial phase of Zuma Blitz, with more to come,” Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at PopCap explained. “Zuma is a very different game than Bejeweled, so the social adaptation has gone in different directions. Zuma is already a fast-paced arcade game, so the challenge was to make it feel approachable to players of all skill levels, even with just sixty seconds to play.”
“Once again PopCap is bringing a beloved game to the Facebook Platform and enhancing already successful game play with social features and functionality,” Gareth Davis, Facebook Platform Manager added. “Zuma Blitz will provide a fun and engaging way for our more than 400 million users to play with their friends on Facebook.”
Zuma Blitz will “evolve” in a similar way to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook with ongoing additions and major updates. The new features which will be included in Zuma Blitz are weekly tournaments and leaderboards, new levels introduced regularly, an “experience points” system which helps in unlocking additional features and capabilities, and a “Treasure Chest” virtual currency-based system. It will also add time extenders, score multipliers, and the “Hot Frog” speed mode.
Fans of the puzzle game can expect Zuma Blitz to roll out gradually in a method stated above, starting with a Beta launch in about three weeks.