PopCap Games has released the PopCap Games Framework, the in-house development toolset used to create game titles such as "Bejeweled," "Bookworm," "Zuma," and other popular casual computer games. The PopCap Games Framework is offered under an open source license and can be used free of charge by any developer for commercial or non-commercial use.

The PopCap Games Framework provides developers a quick and easy way to get their projects off the ground, allowing more time to be spent on game design instead of compatibility bugs and multimedia programming issues. For the first time, casual game developers will have access to a refined, reliable framework that has been tested in dozens of games played by millions of customers.

"Our primary goal is to help grow the casual games space," says PopCap President and CTO Brian Fiete. "But we're also hoping that by sharing our toolset we'll come into contact with innovative and talented developers."

"PopCap's framework is powerful, flexible, and intuitive. I could not ask for a better framework for this type of game," says George Fan of Flying Bear Entertainment, who chose the PopCap framework for the successful "Insaniquarium." Luc Van den Borre of Nuclide Games says, "It halved the time spent on testing and customer support for Rocket Mania and Pixelus. It's a rock solid foundation on which to build a downloadable game."