GREE Announces an Investment in IUGO Mobile Entertainment
TOKYO, Japan - April 23, 2012 - GREE today announced that it has made a minority investment in Vancouver-based game developer IUGO Mobile Entertainment Inc. IUGO specializes in the design, development and deployment of premium quality mobile games. The new partnership follows GREE's recent investment in HTML5 powerhouse, Wizcorp.
“We are honored and excited to partner with developers who share our passion for delivering quality mobile social entertainment,” says Shanti Bergel, SVP, Business & Corporate Development of GREE's subsidiary, GREE International, Inc. “We look forward to working with IUGO's talented team to grow the leading mobile social ecosystem for players and developers alike.”
Under the new partnership, IUGO and GREE will co-develop high-quality, free-to-play content leveraging IUGO's three proprietary technologies - IUGO Games Library™, IRender™3D Engine, and IUGO Mesh™ Social Game Engine - which GREE will use to expedite development and enhance the quality of its social mobile games.
“Both GREE and IUGO are mobile-first game companies, and we share a common vision of where the game industry is heading,” says Hong-Yee Wong, CEO of IUGO Mobile Entertainment. “Even though IUGO delivered our first game in 2003, I feel like we are just getting started because of the immense opportunities brought forward by the mobile lifestyle. Mobile gaming is soaring on a global scale, and our partnership will put us at the leading edge of this thrust.”
GREE's investment in IUGO is the latest step in GREE's rapid, global expansion. The company's engagement of the Canadian market through IUGO follows the establishment of GREE's first North American office in 2011.
GREE is dedicated to building a global mobile social gaming ecosystem that allows players to connect with friends through high-quality game experiences while offering developers access to a high-engagement audience. Earlier this year, GREE launched the first two games developed by its San Francisco studio - Zombie Jombie and Alien Family. GREE plans to continue creating interesting and unique social free-to-play game experiences, while building relationships with third party developers. GREE also plans to release its new GREE platform in Q2 2012.
About GREE, Inc.
GREE is a global mobile social gaming company at the forefront of mobile technology. GREE is focused on building the leading mobile social gaming ecosystem for users and developers worldwide, with an emphasis on creating and supporting unique free-to-play game content. Following the acquisition of OpenFeint in April 2011, GREE's robust network now reaches over 190 million players and offers over 7,500 game applications to users around the world. With offices in Tokyo, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Seoul, Beijing, and Amsterdam, GREE will continue to expand worldwide.
About IUGO Mobile Entertainment Inc.
Founded in 2003, IUGO is an innovative studio focused on creating premium game experiences on mobile devices. The passionate team comprises of a perfect balance of inspired games creators and strong technology experts. In parallel with creating great games, IUGO has invested significant efforts into developing a suite of robust and high performance mobile-specific technologies. This has given the studio an edge to deliver superior products that look and play better. IUGO has earned a solid reputation for delivering recognized AAA titles for major global publishers as well as achieving success with its own self-published original IP. For more information about IUGO, please visit www.iugome.com.
Contact Information
GREE, Inc. PR
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: pr@gree.co.jp
URL: https://corp.gree.net/jp/en/
Twitter: @GREE_pr_jp
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