The plan: Glu will launch five new game titles in the fourth quarter, which de Masi describes as persistent (more on that definition later). The games will support a handful of smartphones, including iPhone, Android, Windows and HP (NYSE: HPQ) (Palm), to reach a large user base. Four of the titles are original IP and one is licensed. Next year, it expects to ramp up production and release 25 to 35 titles annually.

What is persistent?: Glu is shifting away from the old model of making IP-based games, and then porting the titles to as many feature phones as possible. Now it’s moving towards social gaming, or what de Masi calls “persistent gaming.” Think Zynga on Facebook. Users will be able to invite their friends to play both with and against them (regardless of what OS or carrier they use), and all of the games will be tied together to form a community. They will be free and monetized through virtual goods, advertising, etc. De Masi: “We want to build a Glu audience of gamers. We aren’t trying to compete with social networks, or ad networks, but use their tools. We are agnostic to who succeeds.”

Practice makes persistence: Prior to these new titles, Glu has been practicing the art of persistent. It has created free versions of some of its titles, including World Series of Poker, which will sell more chips to a player if they strike out; Super K.O. Boxing, which has ads, and Glyder , which has personalized wing packages. Since Glu is starting to get insights into who is playing their games for the very first time, “We’ve built out analytics teams and server-side structure,” de Masi said. “Most platforms prior to smartphones had nothing to analyze because you didn’t know who was using it.”

Early results & management hires: While Glu still battles declining feature-phone revenues, de Masi said he’s feeling confident about the company’s trajectory. In the second quarter across all titles, Glu generated 294,000 micro-transactions, or billable events. To help with its new strategy, Glu has added a chief creative officer, VP of e-commerce and VP of marketing to the management team. The company’s stock closed at $1.15 a share today.