Gameloft unveils five new free-to-play casual games for Android

Gameloft has announced that they will be expanding their Let's Play brand with five more games launching this summer on Google Play. Let's Play is geared towards casual mobile gamers in a free-to-play (read IAP-heavy) format. The new games will be:

  • Cosmic Colony: The action unfolds on a mysterious planet where players must create and organize their colony and make it prosper. Surprising events and space missions await players of all ages as they become space pioneers.
  • Monster Life: With its original design, this game lets both the young and the young at heart interact with 3D papercraft monsters, build their habitats, take care of them, and train them to battle other monsters throughout various quests.
  • MY LITTLE PONY : Featuring everyone’s favorite characters such as PINKIE PIE and TWILIGHT SPARKLE from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic animated series, created by Hasbro Studios and currently airing on the The HUB TV Network in the US. Girls and fans of all ages will look forward to building their very own town of Ponyville, while enjoying a series of mini games that are sure to please.
  • Kingdoms & Lords: In this simulation and strategy game, players can build their own kingdom and form an army to hold off barbarian invaders. Players can battle each other to prove who has the better army in this compelling title.
  • UNO® & Friends: This new game will let the huge worldwide base of UNO® fans connect with one another on smartphones, tablets or Facebook. Players will enjoy having the ability to challenge up to 3 other players in real time, while interacting using the in-game chat modes as well. A game started on a smartphone or tablet can be finished on Facebook, and vice versa.

As you can tell, the games are build with all ages in mind - not a lot of shoot-'em-ups in this list. The brand is on iOS as well, and if the UNO & Friends announcement was any indication, many of the new games should offer multiplayer compatibility across a bunch of different platforms. 

The Let's Play brand is relatively new, having only launched in February with Ice Age Village, Oregon Trail, Fashion Icon, Fantasy Town, and Let's Golf 3. It's great that these new titles will be clearly labeled as family-friendly, but I definitely worry how heavily Gameloft will be pushing IAPs on 12-year-old girls. Is friendship only going to be moderately magical in My Little Pony unless she shells out another $0.99?

Simon Sage
Simon has been covering mobile since before the first iPhone came out. After producing news articles, podcasts, review videos, and everything in between, he's now helping industry partners get the word about their latest products. Get in touch with him at simon@futurenet.com.