PopCap Games announced that Zuma, its second best-selling franchise with nearly 20 million units sold worldwide, will soon be debuting on Facebook in a free, social form. Zuma Blitz will be the first adaptation of the seminal ball-blasting favorite to offer fans the opportunity to see how they stack up against other players, and will include a host of other social-centric features new to the game. Zuma Blitz is expected to roll out gradually via Beta launch in approximately three weeks.

"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," said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at PopCap. "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."

PopCap plans to continue evolving Zuma Blitz over time, in a fashion similar to the ongoing addition of major new features and functionality in Bejeweled Blitz. New features available at the introduction of Zuma Blitz next month are expected to include:

*         Weekly tournaments and leaderboards

*         New levels introduced regularly

*         An "experience points" system to unlock additional features and capabilities

*         A "Treasure Chest" virtual currency-based system for obtaining in-game power-ups

*         New features such as time extenders, score multipliers and the "Hot Frog" speed mode

*         Additional information on friends' in-game performance and status such as medals won, achievements earned at various point thresholds and experience level

"Once again PopCap is bringing a beloved game to the Facebook Platform and enhancing already successful game play with social features and functionality," said Gareth Davis, Facebook Platform Manager. "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 joins Bejeweled Blitz as PopCap's second full-fledged social game on Facebook. Bejeweled Blitz has attracted nearly 30 million users since its introduction 18 months ago, and more than 100 million sessions of the game are played each day by consumers worldwide.