PopCap Games has announced the release of Bejeweled 3. Available at major retailers and portals like PopCap.com, Pogo.com, Steam, GameHouse and WildTangent, the game is the latest entry in a franchise that has sold 50 million units across 17 platforms.

“I’ve played Bejeweled nearly every day for 9 years, and have been astounded at how much more there is to explore and enjoy in Bejeweled 3 than in previous editions,” said Cindy Morrison, aka Julia Gemstone, author of the unofficial strategy guides for Bejeweled 2, Bejeweled Blitz, and now Bejeweled 3. “Not only do I get to play my favorite Bejeweled game with new gems and Hypercube matches, but the new Quest mode and secret mini-games are beyond incredible fun! I expected fantastic, and it’s so much more than that. My hat’s off to PopCap!”

An estimated 7.5 billion hours have been spent playing Bejeweled, and the game continues to sell at the rate of one copy every 4.3 seconds.