If you are even remotely interested in gaming on your portable device, you know who Astraware is. Bringing us such quality game titles as Bejeweled 1 and 2, Tank Wars and Casino, these guys from the UK have been tops in the industry for quite some time.

A short time ago, however, Astraware became a part of the Handmark portfolio, a mobile software distributor located in the United States. The Astraware site and brand continued to function during this time, but Handmark was definitely the parent company.

Fast forward to present day: Astraware is now Astraware again. Handmark and Astraware have separated, allowing Handmark to focus on their distribution business goals for the future and the latter to get down to the business of making great games. I can hardly wait to see what they turn out!

See the full press release below:

Handmark Spins Off Mobile Games Studio as it Refines Focus

KANSAS CITY, MO and LONDON, UK - (January 27, 2010) – Handmark®, the world’s leading developer and distributor of mobile applications and services, today announced it has spun off its mobile games studio, Astraware, as the company streamlines its business to focus on other strategic areas of mobile development and support.

Astraware returns to the management of Howard Tomlinson and David Oakley, two of the original founders, and will remain a Handmark preferred partner. Handmark will continue to support Astraware on a variety of distribution and promotional opportunities.

“We saw a great opportunity to join forces with Astraware to help create and extend a collection of fun, well-designed mobile games titles to a new audience, and we did just that,” said Paul Reddick, Handmark CEO. “I still see a great opportunity for their team to continue proving their leadership as a major player in mobile games and we will continue to work alongside them.”

Handmark acquired Astraware in January 2008. Together the companies have launched more than 20 games, including the popular GTS World Racing and Platypus for iPhone, as well as its multi award-winning Astraware Sudoku for BlackBerry smartphones.

“Handmark has always been and will continue to be a trusted partner,” said Howard Tomlinson, Astraware CEO. “We look forward to continuing to deliver the very best in mobile games, focusing on the core of our business which is making your mobile experience fun and exciting across new platforms and technologies!”

This follows a recent announcement in which Handmark publicized its aggressive plans to take more than 500 publishers mobile in 2010. The company is refining its focus to lead the rapidly growing mobile publishing market, as the only partner to offer a full-service mobile solution for newspapers, magazines and other content providers.

The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Handmark
Handmark is the leading developer and distributor of mobile applications and services, specializing in mobile solutions for publishers and other media companies. Handmark is the only company to support development across all major mobile platforms, as well as distribution, monetization and ongoing innovation for its partners. Handmark has proven its leadership in delivering fun, engaging, valuable experiences for mobile customers over the last 10 years. For more information, visit www.handmark.com.

About Astraware
Founded in 1994 and incorporated in 2000, Astraware® is a UK-based games studio that develops, publishes and distributes games for a wide range of smartphones and mobile devices, including iPhone™, Windows Mobile®, Android™, S60®, and BlackBerry®. Some of the titles to come out of the Astraware studio include multi-award-winning Astraware Sudoku, Tradewinds 2 (developed under license from Sandlot Games), and Pazzazz Games’ GTS World Racing. Mobile gaming enthusiasts have downloaded more than 70 million copies of Astraware’s products, and the company has customers in more than 100 countries.

© 2009 Handmark, Inc.; Handmark® and the distinctive hand design are registered trademarks of Handmark, Inc. in the U.S. and other territories. All rights reserved. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.