Engine tech company Emergent is under the stewardship of a new CEO -- the company says Scott Johnson took on the role late in 2009.

Johnson is former co-founder and CEO of mobile game developer Mobility Entertainment, which was acquired by Foundation 9. Prior to that, he spent seven years with Vivend in various managing franchises like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon.

Emergent says it has Johnson's leadership to thank for its strong close to 2009, which saw a 35 percent year over year increase in revenues and a 58 percent profitability boost. The company saw particularly strong growth in North America, Japan and China, where it says the success of its Gamebryo Lightspeed development platform drove results.

Overall, Emergent boasts 120 licensing deals sealed throughout the year 2009, and says more than 50 games built on its technology are coming from Asia -- most of them free-to-play and social MMOs.

Emergent is apparently focusing more squarely on that high-growth space. According to CEO Johnson, the company's tech is ideal for developing within the category.

"Over the past 12 months the video game industry has seen a dramatic shift in the way it conducts business. The era of $15 million plus titles is in our rear-view mirror and changing focus to the new way business is done will be challenging for our competition," Johnson says.

MMO developer Sony Online Entertainment launched its first Facebook game, an adaptation of popular turn-based strategy game PoxNora with new social features.

Originally released in 2006, PoxNora is part turn-based strategy game, part collectible card game, and is set in a fantasy world of creatures, relics, and spells. The game was originally developed and maintained by Tucson, AZ-based developer Octopi, which SOE acquired in 2009 and set up a Tucson studio around.

Since the purchase, PoxNora has brought in more than 2.5 million registered accounts. SOE hopes to expand that userbase to a wider social networking audience by including new features in the Facebook version like the ability to invite friends and post updates of accomplishments.

SOE, which typically developers PC and console MMOs like Free Realms, EverQuest, Star Wars Galaxies, and many others, says it plans to create more games for the Facebook platform based on both existing franchises and new intellectual property.

“The Facebook platform offers gamers a new and powerful way to interact with and tap into their social communities,” says SOE president John Smedley. “With the launch of PoxNora for Facebook, we are leveraging the expertise SOE has gained bringing entertainment to the online gaming community for over 10 years.”

Online gaming network Mochi Media launched its Mochi Social platform for adding social features to Flash games and monetizing them, and announced a $10 million Mochi Game Developer Fund.

Mochi Social enables developers to build features like inviting friends, sending gifts, or posting to an activity stream into their Flash titles. These features are available wherever a particular game is played, whether on a social network or portal, and can plug into social graphs across Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter -- with support for more networks planned.

Developers using Mochi Social can broadcast in-game notifications through a notification channel, keeps fans of a specific game informed about game updates, friend activity, or challenges. The platform also collects and offers data on gameplay and virality, which developers can study and use to adapt their titles.

Mochi Social is currently in private beta, though the first game to use the platform, A Thinking Ape's Kingdoms of War, will release next week. Developers can learn more about Mochi Social and apply to participate in the beta at the company's site.

Online gaming community Nonoba announced a partnership with PlaySpan to integrate the latter's UltimatePoints universal virtual currency into its GameRise platform.

The new deal allows PlaySpan to offer users of PlaySpan Marketplace -- its digital marketplace where customers can buy virtual currencies, digital goods, and PC games online -- access to Nonoba's catalog of more than 4,000 Flash games from over 100 indie developers.

Their agreement also enables Nonoba to integrate PlaySpan's UltimatePay and UltimatePoints products into its GameRise platform so that Flash game developers can price and sell entire games, elements of games, virtual items, or gameplay to PlaySpan customers, and receive a 70 percent cut of that revenue.

Nonoba's GameRise platform allows both enthusiasts and professionals to develop and manage custom gaming sites with community features. They have control of the site's game catalog, appearance, advertising, and language. They can also manage chat rooms, forum discussions, and mail templates for user feeds.

"Integration of PlaySpan’s UltimatePay and UltimatePoints in our Payment API means our developers can now offer payment options to an entirely new and very large population who don’t have a credit card to pay for play," says Nonoba Co-founder Chris Benjaminsen. “We believe this is the future of Flash gaming."

Gravity Bear, the social game developer recently established by Flagship co-founder Phil Shenk, launched fighting game Battle Punks on Facebook with an open beta, describing its debut title as "the first 3D game of its kind for social networks".

Battle Punks uses a 3D engine to render both character and environments, offering a visual experience that stands out from the typical 2D games that populate the social space. Unfortunately, the new technology employed in the game has made it so Battle Punks is only supported on Windows systems, so Mac users can't join the open beta just yet.

In Battle Punks, players create customizable avatars, then duel their friends and others online in virtual towns, forests, and swamps. They can win new weapons, spells, experience, and treasure, and later equip their characters with those items before each match, picking the best weapons for different battles.

Shenk formed Gravity Bear in late 2008, enlisting Flagship's (Hellgate: London) former senior software engineer Kevin Klemmick as technical director for the studio. Prior to Gravity Bear and Glagship, Shenk served as lead character artist on Diablo II and as art director on its expansion Diablo II: Lord of Destruction at Blizzard North.

Shenk commented on his new studio's social gaming focus last October: "Gravity Bear was formed with the singular aim of creating games that reconnect people to the core of gaming. Our commitment is to bring the caliber of social gaming experiences players want -- as they want them – which means delivering new kinds of excitement and fun that blend the latest in modern game design with fresh technology."

In this round-up, Gamasutra highlights some of the notable jobs posted in its industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Sledgehammer Games, Crystal Dynamics and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted this week include:

Activision Minneapolis: Associate Producer
"Great games start with great people. Join Activision Minneapolis to help take some of the biggest brands in the business to the next level, our portfolio includes, Bakugan, Monster Jam, Cabela's, Rapala, iCarly and many more household names. We run a flat organization where innovation, passion, personal responsibility and individual contribution are valued and rewarded appropriately. If you are a success oriented, proven high achiever, we want to hear from you."

Blue Fang Games, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based developer behind popular PC series Zoo Tycoon, announced the launch of its first Facebook game, Zoo Kingdom. It also is developing versions of the game for iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.

In Zoo Kingdom, players manage a small petting zoo, earning currency and experience as they care for their animals and maintain their zoo. They can spend this currency to unlock new animals, exhibits, scenery, and attractions. They also earn currency by visiting and caring for their friends zoos.

Setting itself apart from social game developers who are "focused on imitating each other's games" (several zoo-themed titles already exist on the social network), Blue Fang says its ten-year game development experience helped it "marry original and engaging gameplay with the proven social elements" of the Facebook platform.

The studio established a new Mobile/Online division to work on the project, a team it says is "focused on applying proven game design and development principles to the new social, online and mobile game platforms". The new group includes a mix of game industry veterans and online/social gaming talent that will concentrate on creating original IPs in rapid succession.

"Gaming as we know it is being redefined and so too is our studio" says Blue Fang Games president Hank Howie. The company has also created and improved its outsourcing partnerships, pipeline, and technical backen, which it says will allow for effective development and quick deployment for these new titles.

Howie adds, "Platforms and technologies will continue to change, but Blue Fang's strength over the past decade has always been in knowing our audience and what they value in a game. Facebook and the other online and mobile platforms allow us to build on this strength by enabling Blue Fang to have a direct and collaborative relationship with our audience."

Nexon America is offering a total of $1 million in rewards to developers who submit "original, unique and promising" independent projects to a new program it calls "The Nexon iNitiative."

Nexon is looking to sponsor, co-develop, and publish game concepts submitted to the new program, and with today's announcement, the global publisher -- whose distribution network services games in more than 71 countries -- is accepting submissions through its official website.

Developers selected through the program win a share of the $1 million and a chance at a publishing contract with Nexon.

"Nexon is all about great games, and The Nexon iNitiative is about finding the next generation of great game developers," said Nexon America's businses development VP Won Il Sue in a statement. "It doesn’t matter who you are, if you’ve got a great idea, we want to hear from you. We’re ready to fund, develop and publish the best of the best through our massive worldwide network."

Sue explained, "We know that there are a lot of developers out there, both professional and amateur, who feel frustrated at the barriers to getting a truly unique and innovative game developed and published. The Nexon iNitiative is the place they can turn to with those great ideas that will sweep those barriers aside."

Specifically, Nexon says it seeks "potential PC-based games that have broad appeal and encourage community and social interaction." It also welcomes Flash, client-based games or ports from other platforms are welcome. According to the company, "games with strong online elements will get serious consideration, but no good idea will be turned away."

Alternative social payments services company Kwedit raised $3.3 million in a second round of financing led by VC firm Maveron. The company's previous investors include True Ventures, Endeavor Partners, F&W Investments, Kapor Capital, and Maples Investments.

The Mountain View-based startup offers a unique "Play Now, Pay Later" system that enables players to borrow and immediately spend virtual currency for social games, then pay later by either making payments (including 5,800 7-11 stores across the U.S.) at participating stores, sending cash payments, or passing the bill to family or friends.

Since launching last month, Kwedit has signed six new merchant contracts with VoIP provider PokeTalk, an MMO company, a credit record protection service, and others according to a report from TechCrunch. The company adds that it's seeing "tremendous interest" in its Kwedit Direct product, the payment side of its alternative payments setup.

Kwedit also believes there's potential for charitable donations made through Kwedit Direct, claiming that interested donators can make contributions with Kwedit Direct through 7-11 and other participating retailers without any additional fees for the payments. The company invites charities looking for a new way to handle payments to consider its product.

The news comes just after comedy news show The Colbert Report featured Kwedit in a humorous segment that accused the company of "[hooking] little kids on borrowing credit." The startup already has responded to the show's comments in its blog: "We loved everything about it except one thing: he stated that Kwedit can be used by young kids. In fact, Kwedit Promise is for consumers who are teenagers and adults, 13 and up."