CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corporation and pioneer of the "free-to-play, pay-for-merchandise" model for online games in China, and Abandon Mobile, a leader in cross media interactive entertainment, announced today a joint venture for the upcoming multi-platform, multiplayer mobile game, Freaky Creatures. Freaky Creatures is the first mobile community-based game of its kind to combine user created content, strategy, simulation and popular trading card game elements, with true cross-platform gaming connectivity between mobile handsets and personal computers.
As part of the joint venture, CDC Games will market and distribute Freaky Creatures in China and southeast Asia, including India and Vietnam, while Abandon Mobile will market and distribute the game in North America and Europe.
This is CDC Games' latest investment as part of its previously announced establishment of CDC Games Studio, a wholly owned subsidiary of CDC Games that will have up to $100 million in investment funding. CDC Games Studio invests in strategic games development partners to accelerate the development of new and original online games for the China market. CDC Games Studio also supports emerging game developers which may already have operations in China or are seeking to relocate or expand into China and provides to them the resources they need to rapidly develop innovative products for distribution in China and targeted global regions.
This joint venture is the latest in a series of steps taken by CDC Games to deepen its games portfolio, strengthen its move into games development and expand its distribution channels and geographic reach on a global scale. The joint venture represents the latest major investment following its previously announced stake in Gorilla Banana, a leading online games developer from Korea and its recent investment in Possibility Space, a developer of free-to-play online games.
The joint venture with Abandon Mobile advances CDC Games' expansion into the development of new and innovative games, leveraging its foundation as a leading publisher of online games in China. The launch of Freaky Creatures is also consistent with each company's strategy to create a global channel for the expansion of its games, new IP, and further establish a presence in the world's top gaming markets. The partnership aligns world class designers, developers and publishers, of Abandon Mobile with publishing and licensing expertise of CDC Games, across multiple platforms and channels. Through the CDC family of companies, Freaky Creatures will leverage the support of offices in more than 30 countries, and more than 400 software engineers and developers in India alone.
"We're excited about the future launch of such a compelling an innovative new game to the market," said John Lee, president of CDC Games. "This joint venture will help spearhead our distribution of new and exciting titles, such as Freaky Creatures, in southeast Asia which is emerging as the next big market for online games."
"Our partnership with CDC Games marks a significant evolution in our ability to bring exciting, new IP to mainstream audiences around the world," said Jamie Ottilie, president and COO of Abandon Mobile - CDC.
Posted March 13th, 2007 by Nymphadora
