Electronic Arts (EA) has acquired Chillingo, a publisher of mobile games, in order to give it “increased market leadership on the Apple platform,” and “strengthen its position as the world’s leading wireless entertainment publisher.” While the company did not state the price paid, Reuters reported a figure of US$20 million. Many of the reports highlighted the fact that Chillingo is the publisher of Angry Birds for the iPhone and iPad, although the intellectual property for the game is owned by Rovio, which is publishing the title itself in its Android and webOS versions. In addition to Angry Birds, Chillingo’s Cut the Rope is also performing well in the iOS charts.

Chillingo started out as a publisher of mobile games for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian and J2ME platforms, and says it “was one of the first to publish on the iPhone platform.” In addition to the Chillingo brand, it also uses the Clickgamer name for mass-market casual games. In a statement, EA says that it is “committed to preserving Chillingo’s independence enabling them to manage and cultivate their great network of relationships to deliver the optimal gaming experience for consumers.”

Chillingo has previously also said it will publish a PlayStation minis version of Angry Birds. Separately, Rovio has announced availability of a Halloween-themed version of Angry Birds for the iPad and iPhone, with 45 new levels available.